LIBR,/IK,Y 


FISH 


CULTURE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


THE  FARMER'S  PRACTICAL  LIBRARY 

EDITED  BY  ERNEST  INGERSOL 


FISH  CULTURE 

BY 

WILLIAM  E.  MEEHAN 


The  Farmer's  Practical  Library 

EDITED  BY  ERNEST  INGERSOLL 
Cloth     z6mo    Illustrated 

From    Kitchen    to    Garret.    By    VIRGINIA 

TERHUNE  VAN  DE  WATER. 
Neighborhood  Entertainments.    By  RENEE 

B.   STERN,  of  the  Congressional  Library. 

Home      Waterworks.    By      CARLETON      J. 

LYNDE,    Professor    of    Physics    in    Mac- 

donald  College,  Quebec. 
Animal  Competitors.    By  ERNEST  INGERSOLL. 
Health    on    the    Farm.    By     DR.    H.    F. 

HARRIS,    Secretary    Georgia    State    Board 

of  Health. 
Co-operation    Among    Farmers.    By   JOHN 

LEE  COULTER. 
Roads,    Paths    and    Bridges.    By    L.    W. 

PAGE,     Chief    of    the     Office     of    Public 

Roads,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Poems  of  Country  Life.  BY  GEORGE 
S.  BBYAN. 

Electricity  for  the  Farm  and  Home.  By 
FBANK  KOESTEB. 

Fish  Culture  in  Ponds  and  Other  Inland 
Waters.  By  WILLIAM  E.  MEEHAN, 
Supt.  Public  Aquarium,  Philadelphia. 

Village  Improvement.  By  PAKRIS  T. 
FAKWELL.  In  preparation. 

The  Satisfactions  of  Country  Life.  By 
DR.  JAMES  W.  ROBERTSON,  Principal  of 
Macdonald  College,  Quebec.  In  prep- 
aration. 

The  Farm  Mechanic.  By  L.  W.  CHASE, 
Professor  of  Farm  Mechanics  in  the 
University  of  Nebraska.  In  prepara- 
tion. 


THE   HON.  WILLIAM  E.   MEEHAN. 


FISH  CULTURE 

IN  PONDS 
AND  OTHER  INLAND  WATERS 


WILLIAM  E.  MEEHAN 

Formerly  Fish  Commissioner  of  Pennsylvania,  Superintendent 
Public  Aquarium,  Philadelphia 


ILLUSTRATED 


STURGIS  &  WALTON 

COMPANY 

1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1915,  BY 
STURGIS  &  WALTON  COMPANY 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Publiahed  June,  1918 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAGE 

I      POND-CULTTJBE  OF  BLACK  BASS      ......        3 

II  SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS  AND  CASE  OF  FBT  .     .  24 

III  ROCK-BASS,  CALICO-BASS,  AND  SUN-FISHES     .     .  49 

IV  CAT-FISH  CULTUBE 59 

V  CABP  CULTUBE 70 

VI    WATEB  FOB  TBOUT  CULTUBE 86 

VII    TBOUT  PONDS  AND  How  TO  BUILD  THEM    ...     93 

VIII      CONSTBUCTION  OF  A  TfiOUT-HATCHEBY      .       .       .       .111 

IX  TAKING  AND  FEBTILISING  TBOUT  EGGS  ....  126 

X  TBOUT  HATCHING,  AND  CASE  OF  FBY 138 

XI  REABING  YOUNG  TBOUT .160 

XII  THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON     ....    ,.;    .     .     .  174 

XIII  HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JABS     .     .     .     .     .178 

XIV  CULTUBE  OF  THE  YELLOW  PEBCH 188 

XV  REABING  PICKEBEL  AND  MUSCALLONGE  ....  200 

XVI    WHITE  PEBCH,  STBIPED  BASS,  SMELTS  AND  SUCK- 

EBS 207 

XVII    FBOG  CULTUBE 219 

XVIII    MAKING  AND  MANAGING  AN  AQUABIUM     .     .     .  234 

XIX    THE  CULTURE  AND  CUBE  OF  GOLDFISH    ....  252 

INDEX  .  285 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Portrait  of  the  Author Frontispiece 

FACINO 
PACK 

Breeding-Ponds  for  Black  Bass  or  Sun-fish 8 

An   Ideal   Pond   for   Brood-Bass         8 

Bass  Hatchery  at  Mill  Creek,  Mich.,  Showing  Retaining 

Wall  to  Prevent  Flooding 12 

Large-mouthed  Black  Bass    (Micropterus  salmoides)   .    .    24 
Small-mouthed  Black  Bass    (Micropterus  Dolomieu)   .    .    24 

Cribs  Surrounding  Bass  Nests 42 

Pond  for  Calico,  or  Grass,  Bass,  at  Linlithgo,  N.  Y.  .      .     48 
The  Pumpkin-Seed   or   Sun-fish    (Lepomis   gibbosus)   .     .     54 

The  Long-Eared  Sun-fish   (Lepomis  auritus) 54 

The  Calico,  Grass,  Bass   (Pomoxys  sparoides)     ....    56 

The  Rock-Bass   (Ambloplites  rupestris) 66 

Yellow  Cat-fish   (Leptops  olivaris)      ........     60 

Common  Bullhead    (Ameiurus  nebulosus)    .      .     ...    ...     .     60 

Methods  of  Shading  Trout  Ponds  .      .     ...     .     ....     96 

Intake  from  a  Trout  Pond  .     .     ,:    >-    :.,    :.,    >     .     ;.     .  104 
A  Dam  and  Covered  Raceway  .      .     ;.3    >:    m    M    w    >     .104 

A  Trout  Hatching-trough 116 

Feeding  Mature  Trout  ....     :.     ;..    ...    >:    ...    ...     -  H6 

Chain-Pickerel,  in  an  Aquarium   ...     :.(     ....  200 

Striped  Bass    (Roccus  lineatus)    . 214 

Common,  or  White,  Sucker   (Catostomus  teres)  .    .    .    .214 


FISH  CULTUEE 


FISH  CULTURE 

CHAPTEE  I 
POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS 

WHEN  the  propagation  of  bass  was  first  un- 
dertaken in  the  United  States,  it  was  speedily 
discovered  that  it  is  impossible  to  express  eggs 
and  milt  artificially  from  the  ripe  female  and 
male.  The  handling  of  ripe  bass  produces  a 
nervous  condition  which  prevents  their  eject- 
ment, and  affects  even  a  fish  taken  from  the 
nest  in  the  act  of  spawning.  Fish-culturists 
were  then  driven  to  resort  to  pond-culture ;  that 
is,  to  prepare  bodies  of  water  in  which  the  fish 
might  naturally  spawn  and  hatch  their  young. 

Temperature  and  Volume  of  Water. — As 
bass  naturally  inhabit  warmer  waters  than 
trout,  it  follows  that  water  for  a  bass-cultural 
plant  in  the  Northern  States  must  not  be 
directly  from  a  spring  or  be  of  low  temperature. 


4  FISH  CULTURE 

Eiver,  stream  or  lake  water,  which  during  the 
spawning  season  will  not  fall  below  55  degrees, 
preferably  below  60  degrees,  and  only  becomes 
muddy  after  exceptionally  heavy  storms,  and 
then  for  a  short  time  only,  is  necessary.  Dur- 
ing the  breeding  season,  higher  temperatures 
than  those  named,  and  water  perpetually  clean, 
are  very  much  to  be  desired.  At  50  degrees 
the  fish  will  not  spawn;  and  at  45  degrees  both 
eggs  and  fry  will  die. 

A  great  volume  of  water  is  unnecessary,  al- 
though desirable,  since  it  insures  one  against 
any  fear  of  a  shortage  in  drought.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  500  gallons  of  water  a 
minute  will  be  ample  to  operate  a  very  large 
plant,  but,  whatever  the  volume,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  it  be  under  complete 
control.  A  fish-culturist  who  cannot  regulate 
his  water-supply  is  likely  to  lose  two-thirds  of 
his  chances  for  successful  work. 

Water  that  becomes  roily  through  storms  is 
not  objectionable,  provided  the  roiling  is  not 
continued  too  long  or  is  of  too  frequent  occur- 
rence, especially  while  the  nests  contain  eggs. 
For  a  short  time  muddy  water  has  no  percept- 


POND-CULTUBE  OF  BLACK  BASS  ;A  5 

ible  effect  on  fry,  or  advanced  fry,  and  is  bene7 
ficial  to  mature  fish. 

As  a  rule  the  best  water  for  both  kinds  of 
bass  is  from  a  stream  draining  a  lake.  It  is 
even  more  desirable  when  taken  directly  from 
the  lake  itself,  because  it  is  better  aerated  and 
probably  contains  more  plankton,  or  minute 
surface  forms  of  animal  life  which  are  essen- 
tial as  food  for  advanced  fry  and  young  bass', 
and  which  are  taken  unconsciously  by  the  large 
fish.  Next  to  water  flowing  from  a  lake  is 
stream  water  which  is  not  too  frequently  spring 
fed ;  and  after  this  in  value  is  river  water. 

^Choice  of  Site. — Three  conditions  are  neces- 
sary as  a  basis  for  successful  cultivation  of 
small-mouthed  bass ;  a  favourable  site,  properly 
constructed  ponds,  and  suitable  water.  Nearly 
all  other  problems  which  may  and  will  arise 
are  either  subordinate  or  sequences. 

When  seeking  a  suitable  site  for  bass-ponds, 
a  decided  pitch  in  the  ground  is  not  vital,  as  it 
is  only  necessary  to  have  sufficient  for  complete 
drainage.  A  relatively  large  area  of  ground 
is  required  if  many  thousand  young  fish  are  to 
be  fed,  say  at  least  25  acres.  A  pond  of  half 


6  FISH  CULTUBE 

or  three  quarters  of  an  acre  cannot  be  expected 
to  yield  more  than  100,000  young  fish,  even  with 
a  suitable  number  of  accompanying  fry-ponds : 
indeed,  not  more  than  50,000  or  60,000  could 
ordinarily  be  expected. 

Character  of  the  Bottom. — When  the  small- 
mouthed  bass  seeks  a  site  for  a  nest  it  al- 
most invariably  selects  a  gravelly  or  rocky  bot- 
tom; but  this  is  about  the  last  selection  the  ex- 
perienced bass-culturist  will  make  for  his  pond. 
His  first  choice  would  probably  be  a  heavy  clay 
through  which  water  cannot  percolate,  or  a  spot 
where  the  bottom  can  be  made  water-tight  by 
puddling  it  with  clay.  A  stony  or  gravelly 
bottom  is  not  desirable,  at  least  for  breeding- 
ponds,  because  the  fish-culturist  cannot  have 
absolute  control  over  his  brood-fish,  as  it  would 
be  impossible  to  force  them  to  use  artificial 
nests.  Mucky  ground  for  smallmouth-breed- 
ing  should  be  avoided,  because  in  moving  about 
the  fish  are  apt  to  keep  the  water  muddy,  thus 
preventing  frequent  observation, — a  very  im- 
portant feature  in  bass-culture.  Swamp-land 
is  worthy  of  very  favourable  consideration,  be- 
cause, while  the  surface  is  apt  to  be  wet  and 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS      7 

soggy,  the  underlying  material  is  likely  to  be 
clay  or  heavy  loam,  impervious  to  seepage.  On 
the  size  and  character  of  the  gravelly  spots  or 
muck-holes  in  it  must  rest  the  availability  of 
such  property  for  the  purposes  of  bass-ponds. 
A  pond  cannot  be  built  over  a  muck-hole  of  any 
considerable  depth. 

Dams  and  Reservoirs. — 'K  wise  man  will  not 
build  a  pond  for  breeding  bass  by  throwing  a) 
Sam  across  the  stream  which  supplies  the 
water  for  his  establishment.  There  are  cogent 
reasons  for  not  using  the  bed  of  a  stream  for 
such  a  purpose,  among  which  are  the  fact  that 
the  water-supply  is  beyond  the  owner's  con- 
trol, and  in  case  of  heavy  rains  he  stands  a 
good  chance  of  losing  his  entire  stock.  Not 
having  entire  control  of  the  supply,  the  fish- 
culturist  would  also  be  at  the  mercy  of  varying 
conditions  of  water-temperature.  Further- 
more, mud  is  almost  certain  to  gather  in  the 
bottoms,  and  there  is  danger  of  eggs  being 
smothered  by  it. 

All  ponds  for  a  bass-cultural  plant  should 
therefore  be  built  to  the  right  or  left  of  the 
supplying  stream,  and  the  water  let  into  them 


8  FISH  CULTURE 

by  pipe  or  sluice,  arranged  as  is  recommended 
hereafter. 

The  first  work  to  be  done  is  to  make  such 
arrangements  as  will  insure  the  easy  flowing  of 
water  from  the  sources  to  any  part  of  the 
grounds.  If  the  fall  in  the  land  is  sufficient,  a 
pipe  of  adequate  size  may  be  laid  in  the  creek 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  grounds,  or  above  them, 
so  that  the  water  can  be  carried  to  the  pond  by 
gravity.  When  such  piping  is  not  feasible,  a 
dam  must  be  built  at  the  upper  end  of  the  prop- 
erty high  enough  to  carry  the  water  where  de- 
sired. What  may  be  called  the  reservoir,  or 
supply-dam,  should  not  be  solid  from  shore  to 
shore,  but  have  a  wide  sluiceway  at  the  chan- 
nel-point, closed  by  splash-boards  or  gates, 
which  may  be  removed  or  opened  during 
freshets  to  carry  away  the  surplus  water  and 
maintain  the  reservoir  at  as  nearly  a  normal 
height  as  possible. 

Where  it  can  be  done,  an  ideal  plan  is  to 
establish  a  regular  reservoir  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  establishment,  where  the  water  can  rest 
awhile,  subside  and  breed  plankton,  and  from 
which  the  supply  for^the  hatchery  can  be  drawn. 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS      9 

Concrete  is  the  best  material  for  dams  across 
a  stream,  but  whether  built  of  concrete,  timber 
or  masonry,  the  lower  face  should  not  be  per- 
pendicular, especially  if  the  stream  is  large  or 
its  volume  frequently  changes,  for  if  it  is  the 
falling  water  will  rapidly  wash  a  big  pool  at 
the  base  of  the  dam  and  is  apt  to  cut  under  the 
foundation.  To  ensure  permanency  the  lower 
face  of  the  dam  should  be  sloped,  either  un- 
brokenly  or  in  a  slightly  reversed  curve  from 
the  crown.  The  curved  construction  is  the 
most  approved  form  to  prevent  pool  formation 
and  undermining. 

Construction  of  Ponds. — Ponds  for  black 
bass  may  be  dug  below  the  surface  of  the  ground 
or  built  above  it  to  accommodate  the  pitch  of 
the  land,  the  fancy  of  the  owner,  or  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  supplying  stream  for  flooding.  If 
the  land  is  flat,  and  the  water  to  be  introduced 
by  means  of  a  dam  across  the  stream,  naturally 
the  ponds  will  be  dug  below  the  surface,  and 
perhaps  in  addition  will  need  sides  built  up  for 
some  distance  above.  If  the  land  has  a  decided 
pitch,  then  the  natural  course  will  be  to  build 
the  ponds  entirely  or  almost  entirely  above  the 


10  FISH  CULTURE 

surface.  Such  construction  may  be  considered 
as  ideal,  because  perfect  drainage  is  then  cer- 
tain. 

Earlier  bass-culture  was  conducted  in  ponds 
of  very  small  dimensions,  but  with  advancing 
experience  the  area  for  breeding-fish  was  in- 
creased, until  now  some  almost  approach  the 
size  of  lakes.  Few  now  in  use  for  breeders  are 
less  than  200  by  75  feet;  and  the  tendency  is 
to  make  them  much  larger.  Four  to  five  acres, 
however,  is  about  the  limit  that  can  conveniently 
be  cared  for ;  and  those  who  breed  bass  feel  that 
even  that  space  can  be  more  satisfactorily 
handled,  and  with  better  results,  when  divided 
into  two  or  three  breeding-ponds  than  as  a 
single  body  of  water.  Owing  to  the  expense  of 
constructing  very  large  ponds,  and  the  length 
of  time  required  for  their  completion,  it  is  ad- 
visable when  starting  a  bass  plant  to  build  one 
or  two  ponds  about  300  by  100  feet  in  order  that 
there  may  be  an  early  stock  of  young  fish. 

Depth  and  Bottom. — The  bottom  of  a  pond 
for  fish-cultural  purposes  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  one  called  the  " kettle,"  and  the  other  the 
" spawning-shelf,"  or  simply  " shelf."  The 


POND-CULTURE  OF  BLACK  BASS     11 

first  is  an  area  at  the  outlet  end  of  the  pond 
deeper  than  the  shelf  and  intended  as  the  winter 
quarters  of  the  bass.  The  second  is  the  area  in 
which  the  bass  spawn  and  spend  the  greater 
part  of  the  year,  and  is  the  shoalest  part  of  the 
pond,  as  well  as  of  the  greatest  extent. 

Some  culturists  prefer  to  construct  a  bottom 
which  slopes  gradually  downward  from  the 
upper  or  inlet  end  to  the  lower  or  outlet.  Un- 
questionably fish  seem  to  do  as  well  in  a  pond 
of  this  character,  and  it  does  not  necessarily 
mean  a  loss  of  the  spawning  area.  Bass  often 
build  their  nests  in  from  six  to  eight  feet  of 
water,  although  in  such  instances  it  is  usually 
late  in  the  season.  Ponds  with  a  sloping  bot- 
tom throughout  are  not  nearly  as  easily  handled 
and  cared  for  as  those  in  which  the  water  over 
the  spawning  shelf  is  approximately  of  even 
depth.  One  desirable  feature  is  the  greater 
ease  with  which  the  action  and  progress  of  the 
fish  may  be  watched  during  the  spawning 
period,  or  at  any  other  time.  Close  observation 
of  bass  is  essential  during  the  height  of  the 
spawning  season.  At  times  there  will  be  fresh- 
ly laid  eggs,  eyed  eggs,  eggs  just  hatched,  fry 


12  FISH  CULTURE 

freshly  hatched,  fry  collected  and  ready  to  rise 
towards  the  surface  of  the  water,  all  at  the  same 
time. 

Fry  have  been  seen  at  nine  oclock  in  the 
morning  tight  against  the  bottom,  and  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  swimming  near  the  sur- 
face. On  occasions  fry  may  be  hugging  the 
stones  on  the  nest,  and  half  an  hour  later  be 
swimming  freely  two  or  three  inches  above  tho 
bottom.  In  deep  water  or  on  sloping  bottoms, 
movements  of  the  fry  are  apt  to  escape  notice. 
Before  the  culturist  is  aware  of  it,  he  will  find: 
the  edges  of  his  pond  black  with  advanced  fry 
which  have  escaped  being  impounded,  and  which 
he  will  find  extremely  difficult  to  capture  in 
their  entirety. 

Sides  and  Outlets. — Ponds  with  sides  of 
natural  earth  are  better  than  those  with  sides 
constructed  of  concrete,  stones  or  boards.  Be- 
sides, the  cost  of  artificial  walls  would  be  so 
great  as  to  be  almost  prohibitive.  The  only 
drawback  to  the  natural  earth  is  the  proneness 
of  muskrats  to  pierce  them  with  holes,  which  de- 
stroy the  banks  and  often  allow  water  to  escape. 
The  sides  of  a  bass-pond  should  always  be 


BASS    HATCHERY   AT   MILL    CREEK,    MICH.,    SHOWING    RE- 
TAINING-WALL  TO   PREVENT  FLOODING. 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS     13 

sodded  to  the  water's  edge,  both  for  beauty  and 
for  the  encouragement  of  grasshoppers  and 
crickets,  which  will  occasionally  fall  into  the 
water  and  furnish  food  for  the  fish.  There 
should  be  a  valve  or  regulating  board  at  every 
water-intake,  so  as  to  guage  and  control  the 
quantity  of  water  used.  The  inflow-pipe  or 
sluice  ought  to  be  carefully  screened,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  entry  of  any  undesirable  water- 
life,  as  eels,  and  mud-puppies  (otherwise  known 
as  water-dogs  or  hellbenders)  either  of  which 
can  do  considerable  damage.  The  outlet  of  the 
brood-pond  may  be  by  splash-board  or  pipe,  but 
whichever  is  adopted  it  must  be  enclosed  by 
screens,  to  prevent  either  mature  or  small  fish 
from  escaping.  The  desirable  place  for  the 
outlet  is  the  centre  of  the  breast  of  the  pond. 
It  is  also  very  important  that  arrangements  be 
made  by  which  the  water  can  be  drawn  off 
gradually  when  desired,  so  as  not  to  create  a 
suction  sufficient  to  carry  out  of  the  pond  any 
small  fish,  which  may  have  escaped  from  cribs 
or  pounds. 

Brood-ponds  should  contain  aquatic  plants, 
such    as    the    common    water-lily    (Nymphia 


14  FISH  CULTURE 

odorata)*  During  hot  summer  days  bass  love 
to  lie  underneath  the  shade  of  its  leaves,  but 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  permit  the  plants  to 
gain  such  a  strong  hold  as  to  clog  the  pond  and 
prevent  free  work. 

Quarters  for  Fry  and  Fingerlings. — Ponds 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  advanced  fry  or 
fingerlings  of  bass  are  just  as  necessary  as 
ponds  for  brood-fish.  It  is  difficult  to  have  too 
many  ponds.  It  is  recommended  that  there  be 
not  less  than  five  fry-ponds  for  every  brood- 
pond  of  about  ten  thousand  square  feet,  and 
each  of  considerable  area,  with  a  combined  area 
equal  at  least  to  that  of  the  brood-pond.  The 
more  room  there  is  for  the  advanced  fry  and 
fingerlings  the  less  will  be  the  amount  of  canni- 
balism. 

A  large  number  of  medium-sized  ponds  for 
advanced  fry  and  fingerlings,  instead  of  one  or 
two  large  ponds,  is  preferable,  because  it  is  es- 
sential to  control  or  closely  supervise  the  fish, 
which  cannot  be  done  if  the  body  of  water  is 
very  large.  The  dimensions  of  the  fry-ponds 
will  be  governed  by  the  available  ground,  the 
quantity  of  natural  food  which  can  be  bred, 


POND-CULTURE  OF  BLACK  BASS     15 

the  convenience  of  handling,  and  the  number  of 
fish  to  be  placed  therein. 

Again,  it  is  emphasised  on  general  principles 
that  the  smaller  the  number  of  advanced  fry; 
placed  in  a  rearing-pond,  the  greater  will  be 
the  percentage  when  the  period  arrives  for  their 
distribution.  A  pond  of  less  than  30  by  20  feet 
ought  not  to  be  considered  for  a  moment,  since 
it  would  hardly  rear  2,000  fish  to  be  two  months 
old,  probably  much  less.  About  2500  square 
feet,  carrying  approximately  20,000  advanced 
fry  to  the  age  of  thirty  days,  or  the  fingerling 
stage,  may  be  considered  as  a  minimum. 

The  depth  of  water  in  the  fry-pond  is  an  im- 
portant consideration.  Young  bass  being  rapid 
growers  during  the  first  few  months,  in  order 
that  they  may  develop  freely  and  quickly 
should  have  the  highest  temperature  of  water 
naturally  obtainable,  so  long  as  it  does  not  ex- 
ceed 85  degrees.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  fry 
ponds  for  bass  are  seldom  more  than  two  feet 
deep,  with  a  minimum  of  12  inches,  and  with 
a  kettle  at  the  lower  end  to  facilitate  the  use  of 
a  net  when  the  water  is  drained  off  to  take  out 
the  fish. 


16  FISH  CULTURE 

The  shape  of  a  fry-pond  is  immaterial,  pro- 
viding there  are  not  many  angles  to  prevent 
quick  and  easy  seining ;  yet  it  is  an  economy  to 
have  fry-ponds  longer  than  their  width,  so  that 
they  may  be  more  easily  seined,  since  the 
method  is  to  seine  them  lengthwise  and  not 
across. 

Fry-ponds  are  to  be  located  as  close  to  the 
breeding-ponds  as  possible,  chiefly  on  account 
of  convenience  in  transferring,  and  close  to- 
gether, so  that  when  sorting  takes  place  the 
different  sizes  of  fish  may  be  quickly  changed 
from  one  to  another.  If  there  be  any  consider- 
able number  they  should  be  divided  into  groups, 
each  with  a  separate  drainage  system,  and  a 
separate  water-supply;  for,  as  high  tempera- 
tures are  necessary,  such  waters  lose  their 
health-giving  qualities  very  rapidly. 

As  soon  as  possible  ponds  enough  should  be 
built  to  have  two  complete  sets  for  use  in  alter- 
nate years,  so  that  while  one  set  is  used  the 
other  can  be  drawn  entirely  clear  of  water  from 
September  until  March.  Two  sets  of  ponds  will 
be  found  useful  also  because  of  the  rapid 
growth  of  aquatic  plants,  an  essential  feature 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS     17 

of  a  brood-pond.  The  drawing  off  of  water  en- 
tirely from  September  until  March  is  desirable 
because  it  encourages  the  growth  of  plankton, 
an  essential  feature  in  successful  bass-culture, 
and  also  because  it  destroys  the  larvae  of  the 
dragon-fly,  and  of  water-beetles,  the  water- 
beetles  themselves  and  the  crayfish,  all  destruc- 
tive although  furnishing  food  for  the  fishes. 
Finally,  the  periodical  drawing  off  of  water  as- 
sists in  keeping  algae  in  check, — one  of  the 
greatest  nuisances  known  to  fish-culturists. 

Introduction  of  the  Stock. — For  some  years 
it  was  universally  believed  that  mature 
bass  must,  under  all  circumstances,  be  intro- 
duced from  their  wild  habitat  into  the  hatchery 
in  the  autumn,  to  insure  their  spawning  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  An  impression  prevailed  that 
the  fish  required  time  to  accustom  themselves 
to  their  new  environments,  and  to  recover  from 
the  excitement  or  terror  of  capture  and  trans- 
portation. 

Those  who  entertained  this  view  may  have 
acquired  it  from  the  knowledge  that  some- 
times, after  abortive  efforts  had  been  made  to 
express  eggs  from  a  ripe  female,  she  was  un- 


18  FISH  CULTUEE 

able  to  perform  that  function  herself.  But  tKe 
experiences  of  Dwight  Lydell,  and  of  the  late 
Frank  N.  Clark,  two  authorities  on  the  culture 
of  small-mouthed  bass,  and  the  observations 
of  others,  seem  to  show  conclusively  that 
neither  terror  nor  excitement  can  be  taken  as 
an  explanation.  Moreover,  the  same  authori- 
ties demonstrated  that  small-mouthed  bass  may 
be  introduced  into  hatchery  ponds  in  the  spring 
and  spawn  the  same  season  only  when  intro- 
duced not  earlier  than  ten  days  before  the 
regular  spawning  period.  It  is  therefore  a 
hazardous  procedure  to  depart  from  the  prac- 
tice of  autumn  introduction  in  the  case  of  the 
smallmouth.  The  spawning  habits  of  the 
largemouths,  on  the  contrary,  do  not  seem  to  be 
affected  or  disturbed  in  any  manner  by  the 
time  of  their  capture.  Whether  caught  in  au- 
tumn, early  spring,  or  when  ripe,  seems  to 
them  a  matter  of  indifference,  for  when  the 
breeding  season  arrives  they  follow  the  in- 
stincts of  their  nature  and  fulfil  the  function 
of  reproduction. 

A  cautious  bass  man  will  put  off  securing  his 
supply  of  mature  fish  in  the  fall  as  long  as  he 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS     1ft 

can  safely  do  so.  If  lie  captures  them  while 
the  water  is  yet  warm  he  is  likely  to  lose  many 
of  his  best  specimens  through  fungus.  Be- 
sides that,  he  does  not  want  to  begin  taking 
care  of  a  lot  of  fish  and  providing  food  for 
them  until  he  has  to  do  so.  If  the  fish  are  in- 
troduced in  the  fall,  as  it  is  impossible  at  that 
time  to  distinguish  sex,  it  is  better  to  have 
more  than  needed.  The  trouble  and  cost  of 
caring  for  any  surplus  during  the  winter  is 
trifling.  "When  spring  arrives,  and  the  fish 
develop  to  the  point  where  the  sex  can  be 
determined,  sorting  must  begin  and  continue 
until  the  requisite  number  of  males  and  females 
is  secured. 

Feeding  Mature  Bass. — For  a  day  or  two 
after  wild  mature  bass  have  been  placed  in 
a  breeding-pond  it  is  not  worth  while  to  at- 
tempt to  feed  them.  It  is  better  to  allow  them 
a  little  time  to  grow  accustomed  to  their  new 
quarters,  and  also  to  become  quite  hungry. 
One  of  the  difficult  tasks  to  accomplish  is  to 
induce  small-mouthed  bass  to  take  other  than 
live  food,  especially  when  there  are  no  domes- 
ticated fish  already  in  the  pond;  if  bass  are 


20  FISH  CULTUEE 

already  there  the  work  is  greatly  simplified, 
because  the  new  comers,  seeing  the  "  oldsters " 
rush  forward  to  the  meal,  are  more  likely  to  do 
likewise,  if  only  to  gratify  their  natural  in- 
stinct to  keep  their  fellows  from  getting  any- 
thing they  can  possess  for  themselves. 

Bass-culturists  naturally  resort  to  beef  lungs 
and  liver  if  live  food  cannot  be  furnished. 
Some  believe  it  essential  to  cut  these  into 
slices  about  the  bigness  of  one's  little  finger, 
so  as  to  make  the  pieces  somewhat  resemble 
worms  or  fishes,  and  give  them  a  wriggling  mo- 
tion as  they  sink,  deceiving  the  bass  into  think- 
ing that  they  are  alive.  The  experience  of 
others  shows  that  the  energy  expended  in  doing 
this  is  unnecessary,  for  small-mouthed  bass 
can  be  induced  to  take  lungs  and  liver  cut  in 
an  ordinary  meat  chopper  through  the  largest 
perforated  plate,  if  time  and  patience  are  ex- 
ercised. As  soon  as  smallmouths  have  be- 
come used  to  this  food,  they  will  eat  it  as  readily 
and  eagerly  as  trout. 

Bass,  even  in  ponds,  do  not  school  as  closely 
or  move  with  the  same  speed  as  trout,  there- 
fore artificial  food  must  not  be  thrown  at  them 


POND-CULTUKE  OF  BLACK  BASS     21 

as  rapidly  or  in  the  same  manner  as  when  feed- 
ing trout.  At  the  outset,  when  teaching  bass 
to  take  lungs  and  liver,  only  a  piece  or  two 
at  a  time  should  be  cast  into  the  water,  and 
then  by  the  hand  and  not  by  means  of  a  dipper 
or  spoon.  If  the  pieces  can  be  thrown  so  as  to 
cause  them  to  skip  a  little,  the  chances  of  the 
fish  taking  them  will  be  greatly  increased. 
When  feeding  the  first  few  times,  mixing  with 
it  a  few  minnows  will  induce  the  fish  to  take 
the  artificial  food  more  readily.  The  best  plan 
is  to  throw  two  or  three  little  strips  of  lung, 
then  a  minnow  or  two,  and  immediately  after 
a  few  more  pieces  of  meat. 

Mature  bass  may  become  accustomed  to  tHe 
artificial  food  in  a  week  or  two,  but  the  cul- 
turist  need  not  lose  heart  if  at  the  end  of  five 
or  six  weeks  they  have  not  yet  brought  them- 
selves to  feed  upon  it.  Efforts  must  be  con- 
tinued, for  sooner  or  later,  success  will  be 
achieved.  It  will  be  a  great  aid  if  the  feeder 
makes  a  practice  of  casting  the  food  upon  the 
water  daily  from  the  same  spot  on  the  bank  of 
the  pond,  for  fish  soon  become  accustomed  to 
their  attendant  and  his  ways,  and  if  they  are 


22  FISH  CULTURE 

hungry  hasten  to  the  customary  spot  when  he 
appears  in  the  hope  of  getting  something  to 
eat.  One  fish-culturist  never  passes  his  feed- 
ing-place without  throwing  some  small  objects 
into  the  water,  even  if  it  is  only  a  handful  of 
pebbles.  The  consequence  is  that  whenever  he 
appears  there  is  a  rush  of  fish  after  him  and 
they  will  almost  take  liver  from  his  fingers. 

Minnows. — Small-mouthed  bass  grow  sleek 
and  healthy  on  liver  and  lungs,  although  it  is 
admitted  that  minnows  and  crayfish,  if  they 
can  be  secured,  are  the  best  food  that  can  be 
given.  It  is  surprising  what  a  quantity  of 
minnows  a  few  bass  can  devour  and  digest  in 
a  very  short  space  of  time.  One  hundred  ma- 
ture bass  can  readily  dispose  of  800  of  the 
small  fishes  without  any  trouble  whatever  in 
an  hour,  when  fed  to  them  two  or  three  at  a 
time.  It  is  not  advisable  to  furnish  so  many, 
however,  for  if  the  bass  average  two  apiece, 
per  day,  they  will  not  starve.  Neither  is  it 
well  to  feed  them  in  such  a  way  that  by  the 
time  the  assistant  is  through  all  the  minnows 
have  disappeared.  Some  advocate  feeding  one 
half  the  number  allotted  for  a  meal,  two  and 


POND-CULTURE  OF  BLACK  BASS     23 

three  at  a  time,  and  then  casting  in  the  re- 
mainder at  once.  It  is  argued  that  by  this 
method  many  of  the  minnows  will  escape  for 
the  time  being,  and  keep  the  bass  busy  for, 
half  a  day  or  more  hunting  them.  This  search- 
ing for  the  food  some  men  declare  to  be  bene- 
ficial. 

There  is  one  important  exception  to  this 
rule,  however,  namely,  that  just  before  the 
spawning  time  the  minnows  must  be  thrown  in 
one  at  a  time  and  eaten  before  another  is  tossed 
in.  It  is  inevitable  that  some  nests  will  be 
stolen  and  some  may  escape  observation. 
When  this  is  the  case,  if  there  are  any  number 
of  minnows  at  large  in  the  pond,  they  will  have 
the  time  of  their  lives  when  they  come  upon 
the  young  bass.  They  know  their  opportunity 
and  will  seize  it.  They  are  much  larger  than 
the  bass-fry,  and  a  hundred  or  two  healthy 
minnows  can  easily  devour  several  thousand 
fry  in  two  or  three  days;  hence  there  must  be 
no  minnows  alive  and  free  in  the  breeding- 
pond  at  spawning  time. 


CHAPTEE  II 

SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS  AND  CAEB 
OF  FEY 

HAVING  considered  the  character  of  the  pond, 
the  quality  and  volume  of  the  water-supply 
and  its  disposition,  the  next  important  point 
for  presentation  is  that  of  the  nests  and  their 
adjuncts.  Bass  nests  in  a  hatchery  are  of  two 
Mnds:  those  provided  by  the  culturist,  and 
those  which  the  bass  themselves  make. 

Artificial  nests  consist  of  a  box  containing 
coarse  gravel.  The  size  of  the  box  is  some- 
times determined  by  the  size  of  the  fish  in  the 
breeding-pond,  but  ordinarily  it  is  two  feet 
square,  with  two  sides  open.  The  bottom  is 
fitted  with  two  strips,  three  to  six  inches  wide. 
The  thicker  the  strips,  the  deeper  the  bed  of 
gravel.  The  top  of  the  box  is  provided  with  a 
board  to  strengthen  it,  and  on  which  to  place 
a  weight  to  keep  the  apparatus  steady  in  the 

24 


LARGE-MOUTHED   BLACK   BASS    (Micropterus    Salmoides). 
.SMALL-MOUTHED    BLACK    BASS    (Micropterus    Dolomieu). 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        25 

water,  as  well  as  to  act  as  a  sunshade  to  the 
fish.  A  spot  several  inches  deep  and  two  feet 
square  is  excavated  in  the  pond,  the  box  is 
placed  therein,  and  the  hole  filled  with  gravel, 
varying  from  the  size  of  a  goose-egg  to  that  of 
a  marble,  to  the  top-level  of  the  strips.  It  is 
policy  to  place  some  of  the  large  stones  in  the 
centre,  as  a  bass  would  do  if  it  were  construct- 
ing the  nest. 

It  is  the  male  that  selects  the  site  for  the 
nest  and  gets  it  ready  for  use.  He  does  this 
before  he  has  even  looked  about  him  for  a 
mate.  If  he  has  started  early  in  the  season, 
say  the  latter  part  of  May,  while  he  is  yet  un- 
ripe or  "hard,"  he  sometimes  digs  for  days 
before  the  nest  is  completed  to  his  satisfaction. 

Construction  of  the  Natural  Nest. — The 
nest-building  season  begins  usually  about  the 
middle  or  latter  part  of  May  and  sometimes 
does  not  end  until  after  the  first  week  in  July. 
As  a  rule  the  site  for  a  nest  is  selected  with 
great  care  and  with  close  attention  to  sur- 
rounding conditions.  Bottoms  with  small 
loose  stones,  or  with  gravel  or  clean  sand,  are 
invariably  preferred.  Places  with  large  rocks 


26  FISH  CULTURE 

or  immovable  stones  are  generally  avoided. 
Early  in  the  spring  nests  are  located  in  shal- 
lows where  the  water  is  likely  to  catch  the 
warming  rays  of  the  sun  earliest  and  receive 
them  the  longest,  but  nests  will  often  be  located 
in  places  shaded  throughout  the  day;  and  to- 
ward the  close  of  the  season  they  may  be  con- 
structed in  seven  or  more  feet  of  water,  doubt- 
less because  the  shallows  have  become  too 
warm  for  the  proper  hatching  of  the  eggs. 
Wherever  possible,  a  natural  nest  is  placed  in 
close  proximity  to  a  large  stone,  a  sunken  log 
or  some  other  submerged  object,  which  will 
protect  it  from  being  violently  washed  by  the 
water  in  stormy  weather. 

A  site  selected,  the  male  bass  clears  away  the 
mud  and  debris  from  a  circular  space,  by  ex- 
ceedingly rapid  fanning  motions  of  the  pec- 
toral and  ventral  fins,  and  by  slower  sweeps  of 
his  tail.  Leaves  and  sticks  are  carried  outside 
the  enclosure  in  his  mouth.  Stones  and 
pebbles  are  pushed  into  place  by  means  of  his 
nose.  Usually  a  slight  concavity  is  noticed  in 
the  natural  nest,  and  should  be  imitated  in  the 
artificial  one.  Sometimes  a  natural  nest  is 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        27 

found  almost  perfectly  level,  due  it  is  believed 
to  the  rapid  ripening  of  the  male,  which  pre- 
vents his  completion  of  the  work.  If  he  is 
nearly  ripe,  he  is  less  likely  to  spend  much  time 
in  construction,  but  devotes  himself  rather  to 
thoroughly  cleaning  it  and  to  working  the 
larger  gravel  to  the  centre,  the  two  most  im- 
portant considerations.  The  larger  stones  are 
centred  in  the  nest  because  it  is  among  them 
that  the  bulk  of  the  eggs  are  to  be  deposited. 
Courting  the  Female. — When  his  house  is 
ready,  the  male  bass  seeks  a  female  and  pays 
court  to  the  first  that  he  meets.  He  does  so 
without  ascertaining  whether  or  not  she  is  ripe, 
reserving  for  himself  the  privilege  of  reject- 
ing or  divorcing  her  after  she  has  been  to  the 
nest  and  proves  unripe.  On  encountering  a 
female  he  begins  the  most  grotesque  contor- 
tions. He  will  swim  around  her  in  erratic 
circles,  will  nip  her  gently  on  the  cheeks  and 
belly,  rub  against  her  and  show  himself  off,  in 
his  way,  just  as  proudly  as  a  cock  bird  does 
when  courting  a  hen.  All  the  time  he  guides 
her  steadily  towards  the  nest.  At  times  she 
appears  to  accompany  him  willingly;  then 


28  FISH  CULTUEE 

again  she  displays  indifference  and  even  re- 
luctance at  accepting  his  advances.  When  at 
last  he  has  succeeded  in  coaxing  her  to  the  nest, 
it  seems  as  if  the  coquette  regarded  his  work  of 
nest-building  with  scorn  or  contempt.  She  is 
apt  to  swim  languidly  several  times  over  the 
nest  and  then  leave  it,  to  the  evident  perturba- 
tion of  the  male,  for  he  redoubles  his  antics  and 
contortions,  exhibiting  as  many  as  a  negro  in  a 
"cake  walk,"  and  guides  her  back  again  to  the 
nest. 

This  courting  sometimes  continues  for  two 
or  three  hours  before  the  female  consents  to 
remain.  Then  if  he  finds  she  is  hard,  and  the 
eggs  cannot  be  expressed,  he  promptly  drives 
her  away  and  goes  in  search  of  another  female, 
to  whom  he  pays  as  assiduous  court  as  he  did 
to  the  first.  Should  she  prove  ripe,  the  func- 
tion of  spawning  is  begun.  If  much  delay  oc- 
curs in  meeting  a  ripe  female,  he  does  not 
accept  the  fact  philosophically,  but  "runs 
amuck."  He  darts  hither  and  thither  over  the 
pond,  and  at  the  first  nest  in  which  he  discovers 
a  ripe  female,  there  ensues  at  once  a  free  fight. 
The  raging  bachelor  dashes  into  the  peaceful 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        29 

household,  and  does  his  best  to  thrash  the  male 
owner  and  appropriate  his  mate.  It  is  a  bat- 
tle often  to  the  death,  a  struggle  in  which  no 
quarter  is  desired  nor  given,  and  in  which  the 
female  is  apparently  an  uninterested  specta- 
tor, ready  to  accompany  the  victor.  Whatever 
the  outcome,  the  nest  is  nearly  certain  to  be 
destroyed. 

On  account  of  the  propensity  of  the  male  to  go  to 
war  when  unable  to  find  a  ripe  female,  it  is  consid- 
ered best  by  some  not  to  stock  a  breeding-pond  with 
pairs,  but  to  introduce  females  in  the  proportion  of 
about  five  females  to  three  males.  The  surplus  is  not 
lost,  because  it  often  happens  that  a  male  will  nest  a 
second  time,  if  he  comes  upon  a  ripe  female  after  he 
has  hatched  out  the  first  lot  of  young  and  discards 
them.  All  fish-culturists,  however,  do  not  advocate 
or  practice  having  the  sexes  in  the  proportion  of  five 
females  to  three  males.  On  the  contrary,  the  majority 
probably  pair  the  fish  evenly,  and  assert  that  no  ill 
effects  have  ever  followed  doing  so. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  no  matter  how  many  nests 
there  are  in  a  pond  every  male  is  able  to  distinguish 
his  own  from  his  neighbour 's.  A  male  may  be  removed 
from  the  nest  at  one  end  of  the  pond,  taken  to  the 
other  and  liberated,  yet,  even  if  the  distance  is  a  mile 
or  more,  it  will  not  be  long  before  he  will  be  found 


30  FISH  CULTUEE 

back  again  on  the  nest  he  constructed.  To  prove  this 
fact  it  is  only  necessary  to  catch  a  male,  mark  him 
and  liberate  him  at  once. 

While  the  black  bass  is  usually  satisfied  with  one 
female,  monogamy  is  not  an  invariable  habit.  It  is 
said  that  sometimes  a  male,  seeing  a  female  passing 
the  nest,  although  he  already  has  a  mate,  will  rush 
out  and  bring  in  the  stranger,  and  add  her  to  the 
household.  It  is  also  said  that  occasionally,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  before  the  female  has  finished  ejecting 
her  eggs,  the  male  will  become  dissatisfied  with  her, 
drive  her  away  and  bring  in  another  mate  to  take  her 
place.  Again,  if  a  female  is  not  attracted  by  the  par- 
ticular male,  he  will  sometimes  have  great  difficulty 
in  inducing  her  to  remain.  She  will  make  efforts  to 
escape  while  he  is  doing  all  in  his  power  to  keep  her. 

Sometimes  she  succeeds  in  getting  away,  and  mates 
with  another  male,  but  rarely  without  a  terrible  battle 
in  which  she  may  lose  one  or  more  of  her  fins,  or  be 
otherwise  injured.  It  is  possible  that  when  the  female 
is  dissatisfied,  it  may  not  be  due  to  a  lack  of  attraction 
on  the  part  of  the  male,  but  that  she  is  not  suited 
with  the  nest,  particularly  if  it  is  restricted  by  an  arti- 
ficial box. 

Behaviour  when  Spawning. — The  act  of 
spawning  and  impregnation  is  exceedingly  in- 
teresting. The  male  and  female  pass  each 
other  in  opposite  directions,  pressing  their 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        31 

bodies  together,  and  thus  assisting  each  other 
in  voiding  the  eggs  and  milt  which  issue  almost 
simultaneously,  the  eggs  possibly  an  instant 
ahead  of  the  milt.  If  the  eggs  do  not  come 
freely,  the  male  will  sometimes  go  to  the  length 
of  pressing  the  abdomen  of  the  female  with  his 
mouth,  she  working  her  tail  rapidly  as  if  to 
loosen  the  tissues ;  indeed,  frequent  and  plainly 
visible  tremors  shake  both  male  and  female 
from  head  to  tail  throughout  the  entire  process. 
The  female  does  not  yield  all  her  eggs  at 
once.  The  larger  the  fish  and  the  warmer  the 
water  the  greater  will  be  the  number  of  eggs 
deposited  at  a  single  spawning.  As  a  rule,  one 
period  of  spawning  covers  about  half  an  hour, 
but  even  then  there  is  not  an  uninterrupted 
flow  of  eggs ;  they  issue  in  little  spurts  or  jets, 
from  30  to  60  seconds  apart.  There  may  be, 
also,  intervals  from  three  to  five  minutes,  dur- 
ing which  the  pair  swim  around  the  nest, 
coquetting  with  one  another.  At  the  end  of 
half  an  hour  there  is  a  cessation  of  egg-laying, 
of  indeterminate  length,  depending  on  the 
temperature  of  the  water  and  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  the  female.  As  a  rule,  two  or  three 


32  FISH  CULTUEE 

days  elapse  before  all  the  eggs  are  deposited. 

As  soon  as  all  the  eggs  are  laid,  the  male 
drives  the  female  away  and  assumes  full 
charge  of  caring  for  the  eggs  and  hatching 
them.  He  moves  slowly  back  and  forth  a  few 
inches  above  the  nest,  with  intervals  for  rest 
of  perhaps  a  minute,  keeping  his  pectoral  fins 
moving  all  the  time,  so  as  to  fan  away  all  dirt 
or  sediment,  and  often  raising  his  body  to  an 
acute  angle  so  as  to  bring  the  fanning  tail-fin 
closer  to  the  eggs.  Every  few  minutes  he  will 
carefully  scrutinise  all  parts  of  the  nest,  to 
make  sure  there  is  no  dirt  anywhere ;  and  will 
make  short  excursions  to  see  that  no  enemies 
nor  curious  fish  are  approaching  too  near. 

During  this  period  he  exhibits  marked 
savagery, — seems  to  have  lost  nearly  all  sense 
of  fear.  At  such  times  a  bass  has  been  known 
to  rush  fiercely  at  a  man's  hand  thrust  into  the 
water,  and  bite  it  with  all  his  might.  After 
the  eggs  have  hatched,  and  when  the  culturist 
is  dipping  the  advanced  fry  from  the  nest,  it 
is  not  uncommon  to  have  the  old  male  rush  at 
the  net  and  sometimes  tear  it.  It  is  unsafe  for 
any  fish  to  approach  a  nest  while  it  is  occupied 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        33 

by  eggs  or  fry,  for  a  bass  will  not  hesitate  to 
attack  a  fish  three  or  four  times  its  own  size, 
and  will  invariably  succeed  in  driving  it  away, 
unless,  as  before  described,  it  is  another  black 
bass,  one  on  a  rampage  for  a  mate.  A  bass 
of  one  and  a  half  pounds  will  put  to  flight  two 
or  three  carp  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  pounds' 
weight. 

Bass  which  have  been  kept  in  breeding-ponds 
lose  to  some  extent,  in  course  of  time,  the 
viciousness  they  display  in  a  wild  state  when 
spawning.  Seeing  mankind  as  often  as  they 
do,  and  receiving  food  from  their  keepers 
regularly,  the  fish  become  domesticated,  and 
the  regular  attendant,  if  he  moves  quietly,  can 
go  around  the  pond  and  attend  to  his  work 
without  disturbing  them.  Still,  it  is  always 
better  at  spawning  time  to  approach  a  nest 
only  when  necessary,  and  then  in  the  quietest 
and  most  inconspicuous  manner  possible. 
Domestication  of  bass  never  extends  to  a  point 
where  the  male  views  a  disturbance  of  his  nest 
with  resignation.  While  not  always  as  vicious 
as  when  in  a  wild  state,  he  will  often  display 
strong  anger  and  bite  a  man's  bare  legs  if  he 


34  FISH  CULTURE 

wades  into  the  water,  or  strike  at  Ms  hands 
or  at  the  net  when  the  nest  is  being  tampered 
with. 

During  all  the  time  of  building  the  nest  and 
watching  the  eggs,  and  until  long  after  the 
little  fish  are  hatched,  the  male  bass  does  not 
usually  take  any  food.  If  food  be  dropped 
into  the  nest  he  will  pick  it  up  and  throw  it 
outside.  It  is  said  to  be  a  fact  that  if  a  fish 
has  been  killed,  or  for  some  reason  driven 
from  the  nest  while  the  eggs  are  still  un- 
hatched,  and  another  male  comes  along  -and 
takes  possession,  instead  of  assuming  charge 
and  hatching  the  eggs  as  he  finds  them  he  will 
simply  treat  the  eggs  as  dirt,  clean  the  nest, 
and  bring  in  a  female  to  deposit  a  new  stock. 

Another  curiosity  of  the  spawning  period  is 
the  frequency  with  which  a  male  will  select  for 
his  mate  a  female  much  larger  than  himself. 
Out  of  forty-seven  nests  which  I  examined  in 
one  natural  pond,  two-thirds  of  the  males  were 
much  smaller  than  the  females;  and,  as  a  rule, 
a  female  bass  is  larger  than  a  male  of  the  same 
age.  Except  for  a  short  time  before  spawning 
actually  begins  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  dis- 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        35 

tingnish  the  male  from  the  female, — indeed 
most  fish-cultnrists  say  it  is  impossible  to  do 
so,  in  spite  of  the  contrary  belief  among  fish- 
ermen. Jnst  before  spawning  time  the  females 
are  rounder  in  outline  than  the  males. 

Barrenness  occurs  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  among 
all  fresh-water  fishes,  but  this  does  not  imply  that  a 
female  will  be  barren  throughout  her  life.  Some  may 
be  barren  one  year  and  never  again  until  there  comes 
what  may  be  called  a  " change  of  life";  or  barren  for 
two  or  even  three  successive  years,  and  then  produce 
good  eggs.  Intermittent  barrenness  is  more  common 
among  introduced  fishes  in  captivity  than  among  wild 
indigenous  species.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  ex- 
amples in  the  eastern  United  States  is  the  rainbow 
trout,  of  which  half  of  the  females  in  a  single  pond 
have  been  barren  in  one  year,  and  at  the  same  time 
half  of  the  males  were  either  without  milt,  or  yielded 
infertile  milt.  This,  however,  is  merely  an  illustration 
of  a  well  known  law  of  nature,  that  changed  environ- 
ment is  likely  to  produce  sterility  in  animal  life. 

Preference  for  Natural  Nests. — Many  men 
urge  that  artificial  bass-nests  should  not  be 
placed  nearer  together  than  ten  to  fifteen  feet; 
and  that  the  boxes  ought  to  be  so  arranged  that 
the  fish  on  one  nest  cannot  see  the  fish  on  an- 


36  FISH  CULTUEE 

other;  yet  in  particular  cases,  where  it  was 
necessary  for  the  nests  actually  to  face  each 
other,  no  trouble  was  experienced.  Moreover, 
a  number  of  bass  have  built  natural  nests  im- 
mediately outside  and  against  the  boxes  of  some 
of  the  occupied  artificial  nests,  and  were  not 
disturbed.  Several  other  fish  built  natural 
nests  close  together  and  appeared  to  get  along 
well.  This  becomes  more  significant  from  the 
fact  that  these  bass  were  not  domesticated  in 
any  way,  but  were  wild  fish  caught  during  the 
spring  in  Lake  Erie,  and  introduced  into  the 
breeding-ponds,  where  they  built  nests  and 
spawned  a  few  days  after  their  arrival. 

In  every  pond  fish  will  be  found  which  ab- 
solutely refuse  to  make  use  of  nests  prepared 
for  them,  however  carefully  constructed,  but 
will  build  their  own,  sometimes  of  inferior  con- 
struction. Some  bass  have,  on  occasions, 
carried  their  apparently  obstinate  rejection  of 
an  artificial  nest  so  far  as  to  scoop  out  a  hole 
in  the  muddy  bottom,  in  which  unfavourable 
situation  eggs  were  deposited  and  hatched. 

Often  the  natural  nests  are  larger  and  con- 
tain more  eggs  than  those  which  are  artificially 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        37 

built.    A  skilled  bass-culturist  in  commenting 
on  this  peculiarity  said: 

"In  the  use  of  the  artificial  or  box  nests,  it  is  pos- 
sible that  the  female  selected  by  the  male  may  be  an 
extraordinary  fish.  In  their  maneuvres  back  and 
forth  on  the  nest,  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  female 
sometimes  becomes  tired  of  her  confinement,  refuses 
all  persuasion  of  the  male,  and  will  not  remain  on  the 
nest  until  all  of  her  eggs  are  cast.  I  noticed  particu- 
larly in  one  season,  that  the  larger  fish  nearly  always 
occupied  the  natural  nests,  and  it  would  naturally 
follow  that  there  would  be  found  the  largest  number 
of  eggs.  Of  course  this  idea  will  not  prevent  an  in- 
crease in  the  size  of  the  artificial  box,  but  even  then, 
in  my  opinion,  they  are  sometimes  cramped  for 
room." 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  opinion 
is  nearly  correct,  and  it  leads  to  the  thought 
that  whenever  the  size  and  the  character  of  the 
bottom  of  a  pond  will  permit  it,  natural  nests 
will  be  productive  of  more  eggs  and  fish  than 
the  same  ponds  with  only  artificial  nests.  The 
bass-culturist  quoted  above,  an  ardent  believer 
in  natural  nests,  said  further: 

"Where  ponds  are  small  in  area,  it  is  perhaps  nec- 
essary that  artificial  nests  of  some  character  be  used, 


38  FISH  CULTURE 

so  as  to  provide  more  or  less  seclusion.  From  my 
observation  and  experience,  I  should  prefer,  where 
conditions  permitted,  to  build  no  nests,  but  prepare 
for  the  spawning  season  by  arranging  the  pond  as 
follows:  I  should  construct  the  edges  or  shores  of 
the  pond  in  irregular  shape,  allowing  a  point  to  pro- 
ject here  and  there,  creating  small  bays,  somewhat 
like  one  or  two  of  the  ponds  at  the  Drayton  Plains 
Hatchery,  Michigan.  Then  instead  of  using  the  arti- 
ficial or  box-nest,  I  should  simply  provide  a  sunshade, 
set  upon  props  or  sticks,  leaving  all  sides  free  and 
open  to  the  unrestricted  movements  of  the  fish.  In 
a  pond  of  large  area,  I  am  satisfied  that  this  is  ample 
shelter.  It  is  only  needed  to  protect  the  fish,  while 
hovering  over  the  nest,  from  the  direct  rays  of  the 
sun.  The  size  and  area  of  the  pond  would  furnish 
the  same  seclusion  that  is  given  in  a  pond  of  smaller 
size  by  the  box  or  Lydell  nest." 

Bass-fry  and  their  Care. — When  the  young 
small-mouthed  bass  issue  from  the  eggs  they 
are  exceedingly  small  and  almost  transparent; 
but  in  from  24  to  48  hours,  depending  on  the 
temperature  of  the  water,  they  change  to  dark 
brown  and  then  to  black,  and  resemble  a  newly 
hatched  tadpole.  There  is  no  such  quick 
change  of  colour  with  the  large-mouthed  bass, 
in  which  the  early  stages  of  development  of  the 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        39 

fry  proceed  much  more  slowly  than  in  the  case 
of  the  smallmouth. 

During  the  sac  stage  the  fry  of  the  small- 
mouth  huddle  close  among  the  stones  in  the 
nest,  a  quivering  and  almost  solid  black  mass. 
In  this  period  they  cling  so  closely  to  the  stones 
that  it  is  impossible  to  remove  them  without  in- 
juring and  killing  large  numbers.  As  the  fish 
approach  the  advanced-fry  stage  they  begin 
slowly  to  rise.  When  the  metamorphosis  is 
completed  they  approach  close  to  the  surface, 
provided  the  water-temperature  is  right.  If 
when  they  are  rising  the  temperature  falls  the 
little  fish  will  drop  at  once  to  the  bottom.  The 
ascent  from  the  nest  to  the  surface  is  not  sud- 
den but  gradual,  and  by  a  series  of  upward  and 
downward  movements,  covering  a  period  of 
about  three  days.  A  rise  of  a  few  inches  is 
the  limit  for  the  first  day,  and  about  a  foot  or 
more  the  second,  if  the  water-conditions  are 
favourable,  or  if  there  is  that  much  depth.  The 
shallower  the  water  the  more  rapid  will  be  the 
ascent,  which  means  of  course,  a  more  rapid  de- 
velopment of  the  fry,  on  account  of  a  higher 
water-temperature.  The  third  rise  is  usually 


40  FISH  CULTURE 

to  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface,  regard- 
less of  the  depth  of  the  water. 

Each  day,  as  night  approaches,  the  fry  sink 
back  to  the  nest,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  water 
becomes  cooler.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days, 
if  the  advanced  fry  are  not  confined  in  cribs, 
the  male  parent  crowds  them  toward  the  shore 
and  abandons  them.  The  period  from  the  time 
of  hatching  to  the  time  of  abandonment,  is  from 
seven  to  ten  days,  under  ordinarily  favourable 
conditions. 

For  about  twenty-four  hours  after  this,  the 
little  fish  swim  together  in  detached  schools, 
gradually  separating  until  they  finally  become 
almost  solitary  in  their  habits.  They  then  ex- 
hibit pronounced  cannibalistic  habits,  pursuing 
and  devouring  each  other,  or  attempting  to  do 
so.  In  a  wild  state  however,  the  young  bass 
at  this  period  of  their  lives  do  not  terrorise 
other  forms  of  fish-life.  On  the  contrary, 
small  yellow  perch,  shiners  and  even  minnows, 
regard  them  as  tidbits,  and  for  days  the  young 
bass  are  kept  busy  escaping  the  maw  of  those 
who  a  few  months  later  will  in  turn  scurry  to 
places  of  safety  on  their  approach. 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        41 

Cannibalism  of  Bass. — Of  all  fresh-water 
fish,  the  small-mouthed  bass  from  infancy,  and 
the  largemouth  from  a  year  old,  are  the  most 
inveterate  cannibals.  "Were  it  not  for  their 
high  qualities  as  food  and  game,  their  intro- 
duction into  any  water  could  only  be  regarded 
as  a  misfortune.  Cannibalism  with  the  small- 
mouth  begins  within  a  day  or  two  after  they 
have  become  advanced  fry,  increases  in  inten- 
sity as  they  grow  older,  and  continues  until 
death  overtakes  the  fish.  It  is  this  craving  for 
the  flesh  of  their  own  kind  that  makes  it  diffi- 
cult to  rear  bass  to  maturity  in  large  numbers 
in  captivity. 

When,  with  rare  devotion,  the  male  parent 
watches  the  eggs,  cares  for  the  fry  and  ad- 
vanced fry  to  the  point  of  driving  them  to  shore, 
preparatory  to  abandoning  them,  there  is  no 
indication  whatever  of  his  cannibalistic  habits ; 
but  no  sooner  has  he  driven  them  into  shelter 
among  the  weeds  where  he  leaves  them,  than 
his  appetite  returns,  not  only  with  full  force, 
but  whetted  by  his  abstinence  of  two  or  three 
weeks  when  a  housekeeper.  At  this  critical 
moment,  he  will  devour  as  many  of  his  progeny 


42  FISH  CULTUEE 

as  lie  can  catch.  The  young  bass  that  escape 
have  learned  in  a  rude  school  what  to  expect 
from  older  fish,  and,  their  instinct  suddenly  de- 
veloped by  the  object-lesson  they  have  had, 
proceed  at  once  to  imitate  their  parent  by  try- 
ing to  devour  each  other.  Very  rapidly  the 
smaller  and  weaker  succumb  to  the  superior 
strength  and  speed  of  the  larger.  It  is  a 
struggle  for  existence  and  the  survival  of  the 
strongest. 

No  amount  of  food  given  is  sufficient  to  en- 
tirely conquer  this  instinct  of  cannibalism. 
On  one  occasion  20,000  fingerlings  were  placed 
in  a  pond  in  July,  to  be  retained  there  until 
October.  They  were  fed  six  times  a  day,  with 
ground  fish,  which  they  ate  ravenously,  and  it 
was  estimated  that  each  day  there  was  given 
about  three  times  their  aggregate  weight  in 
food;  yet  despite  the  quantity  of  food  given 
and  the  oversight  exercised,  when  they  were 
counted  the  20,000  fish  in  July  had  dwindled  to 
11,000  in  October.  Those  which  survived  had 
grown  wonderfully.  None  was  less  than  four 
inches  in  length,  and  some  were  over  seven 
inches. 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        43 

'Critis  cmd  Nest-boxes.— When  the  eggs  in 
the  hatchery  have  all  hatched  in  any  one  nest, 
a  crib  or  screen  is  usually  placed  around  it  to 
confine  the  young  fish  until  the  time  arrives  to 
transfer  them  to  the  fry-pond.  The  nests  vary 
much  in  size  as  well  as  in  the  number  of  eggs 
which  are  deposited  therein ;  consequently  it  is 
important  that  if  a  crib  be  used  to  surround 
the  fry  it  should  be  of  large  diameter  (usually 
2  ft.  6  inches).  A  crib  is  a  circular  frame- 
work of  heavy  band-iron,  with  the  sides  covered 
with  cheese-cloth  or  thin  muslin  of  good  quality. 
The  top  and  bottom  are  left  open.  As  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  top  of  a  crib  be  at  least  six 
inches  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  the  depth 
will  determine  its  height,  which  should  not  be 
less  than  four  feet.  Yet  it  is  not  a  serious 
matter  if  a  crib  be  of  less  size  than  the  nest, 
because  the  male  will  keep  the  young  outside 
of  it  close  to  the  crib ;  when  these  outsiders  begin 
to  rise,  the  attendants  can  gather  them  up  with 
a  scap-net,  but  under  such  circumstances  it  is 
impossible  to  prevent  a  few  small  bass  from 
escaping,  and  the  work  of  saving  the  advanced 
fry  is  very  much  increased.  Those  who  have 


44    §  FISH  CULTUEE 

had  experience  in  gathering  fry  from  around 
cribs  have  noticed  that  with  each  succeed- 
ing attempt  to  gather  in  the  little  fish,  they  be- 
come wilder  and  harder  to  catch.  If  the  crib 
be  of  sufficient  size  to  completely  surround  the 
largest  nest,  all  this  work  is  easily  avoided. 

The  crib  is  slipped  around  the  wooden  nest, 
and  as  soon  as  it  is  finally  settled,  so  that  the 
lower  rim  is  well  imbedded  in  the  bottom  of  the 
pond,  the  wooden  nest  is  carefully  lifted  out. 
It  is  exceedingly  important  that  the  bottom  of 
the  crib  be  firmly  planted  in  the  floor  of  the 
pond,  so  as  to  obviate  the  possibility  of  any  of 
the  little  fish  escaping.  It  may  be  held  in  place 
by  a  board  laid  across  the  top  and  a  stone 
placed  upon  it,  but  this  is  rarely  necessary  ex- 
cepting in  localities  exposed  to  very  high 
winds.  If  the  nest  is  a  natural  or  stolen  one, 
of  course  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  set  the  crib 
about  it,  for  there  is  nothing  to  remove.  Some 
bass-breeders,  instead  of  employing  a  circular 
crib  of  iron,  make  use  of  a  square  crib  with 
wooden  frame  having  the  same  diameter,  held 
in  place  by  anchoring  it  with  cords  to  stones  or 
to  stakes. 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS       45 

Nourishing  Fry. — The  general  practice  is  to 
allow  the  fry  to  remain  in  the  cribs  until  the 
sac  is  entirely  absorbed,  and  the  fish  rise  to  the 
surface.  It  is  important  that  the  advanced  fry 
be  removed  from  the  crib  the  moment  they  be- 
gin to  swim  freely,  for  the  reason  that  in  the 
confined  space  they  will  dart  at  each  other, 
often  nipping  off  the  pectoral  or  anal  fins. 

Experiments  made  in  feeding  fry  in  cribs  be- 
fore transferring  them  to  the  fry-ponds  have 
shown  satisfactory  results.  A  bunch  of  chara 
moss  was  suspended  by  a  string  from  the  board 
on  top  of  the  crib  about  midway  from  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  little  fish  immediately  attacked  the 
small  crustaceans  (daphnia  and  cyclops)  which 
swarmed  therein.  The  little  fish  thus  fed  were 
held  ten  days  in  the  crib  after  they  had  swum; 
to  the  surface,  making  the  total  age  of  the  fish 
fourteen  or  fifteen  days  when  they  were  finally 
transferred  to  the  fry-ponds.  They  were  more 
than  double  the  size  of  the  fish  which  had  not 
been  fed  in  the  crib,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a' 
perceptibly  smaller  amount  of  cannibalism. 
It  is  believed  to  be  advantageous  to  feed  the 
-fish  before  putting  them  in  the  fry-ponds,  both 


46  FISH  CULTURE 

as  a  possible  diversion  from  their  cannibalistic 
instincts,  and  because  it  promotes  growth. 

Every  pond  should  be  abundantly  supplied 
with  such  aquatic  plants  as  are  particularly 
affected  by  such  plankton  as  daphnia  and  cy- 
clops,  as  it  has  been  found  that  this  food  causes 
a  more  rapid  growth  among  the  advanced  fry 
than  any  artificial  food  which  can  be  given 
them.  The  best  aquatic  plant  for  this  purpose 
is  chara  moss.  The  potamogeton  is  also  rec- 
ommended very  highly,  but  it  is  not  so  satisfac- 
tory as  the  chara  moss,  especially  for  small- 
mouthed  bass,  which  most  fish-culturists  now 
try  to  rear,  and  which  are  the  most  difficult 
with  which  to  succeed.  The  chara  moss  forms 
a  thick  mat  over  the  bottom  of  the  pond;  so 
thick,  indeed,  that  unless  frequently  thinned 
too  great  a  quantity  will  form  and  smother  the 
young  fish.  It  is  most  important  that  there 
always  be  kept  a  clear  space  of  water,  about  a 
foot  in  width,  on  all  sides  of  the  ponds. 

By  heavy  feeding,  both  with  natural  and 
artificial  food,  and  with  a  favourable  water-tem- 
perature, smallmouth  fry  should  be  brought  to 


SPAWNING  OF  BLACK  BASS        47 

a  length  of  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  at  the 
end  of  thirty-five  days.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
they  could  be  retained  much  longer  without  a 
heavy  loss  through  cannibalism,  since  up  to 
this  point  it  has  taken  continuous  labour  and  the 
utmost  vigilance  to  rear  a  satisfactory  num- 
ber. 

Cultivating  the  Large-mouthed  Bass. — For 
large-mouthed  bass  the  principal  require- 
ments are  a  large  pond,  similar  to  that  already 
described,  and  the  same  water,  with  the  shelf 
well  covered  with  chara  moss  or  coarse  grass. 
The  largemouth  will  clear  up  spots  in  this 
moss  or  grass,  deposit  the  eggs  thereon  and 
hatch  them.  No  artificial  nests  are  necessary. 
The  natural  nests  may  be  surrounded  by  cribs 
in  the  same  way  as  for  the  small-mouthed  bass, 
and  at  the  proper  time  the  young  may  be  re- 
moved to  the  fry-ponds. 

The  large-mouthed  bass  are  much  slower  in 
turning  a  dark  colour  than  the  smallmouths. 
During  the  fry  stage,  they  are  not  quite  as  can- 
nibalistic, although  after  they  are  placed  in  the 
fry-pond,  and  begin  to  feed  freely,  there  is 


48  FISH  CULTURE 

little  difference  in  this  respect.  They  can  be 
carried,  hatched,  and  reared  in  a  much  lower 
grade  of  water  than  can  be  used  for  the  small- 
mouth,  and  hence  the  chances  for  success  with 
them  are  increased. 


CHAPTER  HI 

EOCK-BASS,    CALICO-BASS,    AND    SUN- 
FISHES 

ALTHOUGH  among  the  smaller  fishes,  the  rock- 
bass,  calico-bass  (or  grass-bass),  and  two  or 
three  of  the  sun-fishes,  are  well  worth  attention 
by  fish-culturists.  They  afford  excellent  food, 
and  their  game  qualities  are  not  to  be  despised 
by  anglers.  Of  the  sun-fishes  the  bluegill,  or 
Lake  Erie  sun-fish,  attains  a  size  suitable  for  the 
market,  and  has  a  distinct  commercial  value. 
Its  flesh  is  firm,  sweet,  and  of  high  grade.  It 
rises  readily  to  an  artificial  fly,  takes  bait  with 
avidity,  and  gives  the  angler  a  short  but  brisk 
fight. 

The  eggs  of  the  sun-fish  can  be  taken  and 
fertilised  artificially,  and  a  gratifying  percent- 
age hatched;  but  it  is  found  to  be  easier, 
cheaper,  less  troublesome,  and  quite  as  satis- 
factory, to  allow  the  fish  to  spawn  naturally, 

49 


50  FISH  CULTURE 

and  care  for  the  fry  themselves.  It  is  even 
possible  to  leave  the  young  in  the  same  ponds 
with  the  adults,  until,  through  growth,  over- 
crowding is  evident.  Some  cannibalism  will 
naturally  follow  this  method,  but  usually  not  to 
a  serious  extent.  It  is  confined  almost  wholly 
to  the  older  fish.  This  is  true  especially  of  the 
long-eared  and  bluegill  sun-fishes.  However, 
as  the  sun-fish  is  so  prolific,  and  the  propor- 
tion of  eggs  naturally  fertilised  so  very  large, 
some  may  be  spared  to  supply  the  maws  of  the 
parents,  and  yet  leave  enough  to  make  a  good 
showing  for  the  fish-culturist. 

The  habits  of  rock-bass,  calico-bass  and  sun- 
fishes,  just  before  breeding  time,  during  this 
period  and  after  it,  are  very  similar  to  those 
of  the  black  bass,  with  the  exception  that  the 
sun-fish  is  more  inclined  to  polygamy;  and  that 
none  of  the  three  named  has  as  strongly  de- 
veloped cannibalistic  habits  as  the  black  bass. 
The  rock-bass  is  more  apt  to  devour  its  young, 
and  these  young  are  more  likely  to  eat  each 
other,  than  are  any  of  the  sun-fishes.  The 
calico-bass  seems  to  hanker  the  least  for  the 
flesh  of  its  kind.  A  pisciculturist  may  there- 


SMALL  BASS  AND  SUN-FISH        51 

fore,  with,  some  degree  of  confidence,  have 
either  rock-bass  and  calico-bass,  or  calico-bass 
and  sun-fish,  breeding  in  the  same  pond. 

Nesting  Habits. — Bock-bass  and  sun-fish  are 
decidedly  gregarious  during  the  spawning  sea- 
son, and  their  nests  are  often  found  closely 
mingled.  The  whole  of  the  bottom,  or  both 
sides  of  a  pond,  have  been  observed  so  thickly 
covered  with  sun-fish  and  rock-bass  nests  that 
they  almost  touched  each  other,  the  occupants 
apparently  dwelling  in  amity.  The  same  type 
of  pond  may  be  constructed  for  the  three 
species  as  for  black-bass  breeders.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  build  artificial  nests  unless  the 
bottom  be  more  than  usually  muddy,  although! 
these  three  species  prefer  sandy  or  gravelly 
places  on  which  to  deposit  their  eggs.  They 
desire  from  one  to  three  feet  of  water  in  which 
to  spawn.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  Pennsyl- 
vania the  four  principal  species  instinctively 
choose,  when  they  have  the  opportunity,  differ- 
ent degrees  of  depths.  Calico-bass  will  often 
build  nests  in  six  feet  of  water.  The  common 
" pumpkin-seed"  selects  a  very  shoal  spot,  and 
begins  nest-building  a  few  days  earlier  than  its 


W  FISH  CULTURE 

cousin,  tie  common  or  long-eared.  The  blue- 
gill  follows  a  few  days  later.  The  common! 
long-eared  sun-fish  usually  locates  a  little 
deeper  than  the  pumpkin-seed,  while  the  blue* 
gill  seeks  the  deepest  water  of  them  all. 

Spawning  Time. — The  sun-fishes  and  the 
rock-has s  do  not  begin  spawning  quite  as  early 
as  the  black  bass.  In  fact  they  rarely  begin 
nest-building  until  the  latter  have  almost  fin- 
ished hatching  their  eggs.  It  is  seldom,  when 
the  bass  begins  spawning  the  latter  part  of 
May  or  the  first  of  June,  that  sun-fish  have 
started  to  clean  up  their  nests.  It  is  not  until 
the  end  of  the  first  week,  or  the  beginning  of 
the  second  week  in  June  that  sun-fish  activity 
begins,  but  when  a  start  is  made,  there  £re 
found  to  be  specimens  to  continue  it  until  the 
middle  or  the  latter  part  of  August.  There  ap- 
pear to  be  two  distinct  periods  when  there  is 
a  more  pronounced  industry  and  a  greater 
number  of  fish  on  the  spawning  beds.  The 
first  period  is  from  the  beginning  of  June  until 
the  early  part  of  July;  the  second  is  from 
about  the  first  to  the  tenth  or  fifteenth  of  Au- 
gust. 


SMALL  BASS  AND  SUN-FISH       53 

Nest-making  of  the  Sun-fish. — Sun-fishes 
are  small  in  body,  but  ambitious  when  it  comes 
to  nest  construction.  The  house-building  aims 
of  the  sun-fishes  remind  one  of  the  frog,  which, 
in  the  fable,  endeavoured  to  emulate  the  pro- 
portions of  the  bull.  Happily,  unlike  the  frog, 
which  is  said  to  have  burst  in  its  efforts,  the 
sun-fish  achieves  success  in  his  ambitions  to 
outclass  his  huge  cousin,  the  black  bass,  in  the 
size,  symmetry,  design,  and  even  artistic  char- 
acter of  his  house. 

A  sun-fish's  nest  can,  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  from  that  of 
the  small-mouthed  bass,  even  where  both  have 
located  on  the  same  kind  of  bottom.  The  for- 
mer, is,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  from  two 
to  three  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  bass,  and 
when  he  can  select  a  sandy  place  where  there 
is  some  coarse  gravel  the  nest  is  almost  in- 
variably a  nearly  perfect  circle  surrounded  by 
a  symmetrical  rim  of  sand,  several  inches  high. 
Thus  the  gravel  is  arranged  in  the  center  of  a 
decidedly  bowl-like  depression,  with  almost 
mosaic  exactness  of  design.  This  domicile, 
while  fit  in  every  respect  for  the  accommoda- 


54  FISH  CULTURE 

tion  of  the  female  during  the  period  of  spawn- 
ing, is  manifestly  too  large  for  her  needs. 
Perhaps  the  size  is  due  to  the  polygamous  in- 
stincts of  the  male.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  not 
an  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  male  surrounded 
by  two,  three,  or  even  as  many  as  five,  females 
when  on  the  nest,  sometimes  fertilising  the  eggs 
of  one  after  the  other,  and  occasionally  of  two 
simultaneously. 

The  sun-fish  seems  to  be  very  sensitive  to  ob- 
servation during  the  process  of  spawning. 
Every  few  minutes  the  operation  will  be  sus- 
pended while  the  male  darts  suddenly  from  the 
nest  and  encircles  it  a  few  feet  distant;  if  any 
other  fish  happens  to  be  near  he  will  attack  it 
savagely,  drive  it  away,  and  return  with  a 
jaunty  air  to  his  mate  or  mates. 

Hour  by  hour  and  day  by  day  the  spawning 
is  continued,  until  all  the  eggs  of  one  or  more 
females  are  deposited,  and  the  bottom  of  the 
nest  seems  to  be  literally  covered  with  small 
grains  of  coarse,  translucent  sand.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  the  females  leave  to  the  male 
the  task  of  keeping  these  eggs  clean  until  they 


PUMPKIN-SEED    OR    SUN-FISH    (Lepomis    gibbosus) 
LONG-EARED    SUN-FISH    (Lepomis   auritus). 


SMALL  BASS  AND  SUN-FISH        55 

hatch  them;  but  there  have  been  instances 
where  females  assisted  the  male  in  the  cares 
of  parenthood. 

Care  of  Sun-fish  Young. — When  first  hatched, 
the  fry  behave  very  much  like  those  of  the  bass ; 
but  when  they  reach  an  advanced  stage  and  rise 
towards  the  surface,  they  are  not  looked  after 
with  the  same  solicitude  by  the  parent  fish,  but 
are  discarded  almost  as  soon  as  they  have  ab- 
sorbed the  yolk-sac.  The  male  sun-fish  is  an  in- 
teresting creature  at  this  period  of  his  life, 
reminding  one  of  a  bantam  cock;  he  is  as  quick 
to  take  offence,  attack  and  fight,  regardless  of 
the  size  of  his  antagonist.  A  single  male  will 
frequently  attack  a  mature  bass  or  a  huge  carp, 
with  as  much  ferocity  and  confidence  as  a  black 
bass  would  chase  a  sun-fish  were  he  the  house- 
holder. 

Within  a  brief  time  after  they  have  been  de- 
serted by  the  parent,  the  young  of  the  black  bass 
scatter,  each  going  its  solitary  way ;  but  the  sun- 
fish  cling  together  in  schools,  sometimes  for  two 
or  three  weeks;  and  in  fact  they  may  be  found 
during  the  entire  summer  in  groups  of  vary- 


56  FISH  CULTURE 

ing  numbers.  The  young  fish  grow  very  rap- 
idly, and  by  September  it  is  a  joy  to  behold 
them  in  their  shimmering  opal  coats. 

Artificial  Rearing  of  Sun- fish  Fry. — Unless 
a  culturist  wishes  to  be  very  particular  and  save 
fevery  possible  fish,  it  will  not  be  found  neces- 
sary to  surround  a  nest  of  sun-fish  fry  with  a 
crib  or  pound,  but  he  may  allow  them  to  scatter 
and  dwell  in  the  same  pond  with  the  old  fish 
until  ready  to  be  disposed  of.  This  method  has 
one  disadvantage  in  that  the  culturist  can 
scarcely  give  more  than  a  wild  guess  as  to  how 
many  fish  he  is  rearing.  If  he  impounds  fry, 
and  removes  the  advanced  fry  to  ponds  by  them- 
selves, he  may  make  a  reasonable  estimate  of 
what  he  has. 

Fish  so  removed  will  grow  more  rapidly  than 
when  left  in  the  breeding-ponds,  especially  if 
the  fry-ponds- have  a  good  supply  of  aquatic 
plants  which  invite  abundant  plankton.  In  the 
early  days  of  sun-fish  life,  the  common,  long- 
eared  species  seems  to  grow  more  rapidly 
than  the  bluegill.  It  is  not  until  after  it  is 
about  three  months  old  that  the  bluegill  starts, 
and  then  it  speedily  surpasses  its  more  bril- 


CALICO-   OR  GRASS-BASS    (Pomoxys  sparoides). 
ROCK-BASS    (Ambloplites   rupestris). 


SMALL  BASS  AND  SUN-FISH       57 

liantly  coloured  cousin  in  size.  An  additional 
reason  for  removal  is  that  rapidity  of  growth  is 
gained  when  the  young  do  not  have  to  spend 
half  their  time  in  evading  the  attempts  of  the 
mature  fish  to  devour  them.  It  would  be  a 
waste  of  time  and  money  to  put  in  any  such  an 
artificial  nest  as  is  used  for  black  bass.  It 
would  be  cheaper  to  strip  the  fish  and  hatch  the 
eggs. 

Rock-Bass. — The  nest  of  a  rock-bass,  while 
usually  as  large  as  that  of  a  sun-fish,  is  some- 
times quite  small,  less  in  size  than  that  of  a 
small-mouthed  bass,  and  no  larger  than  that  of 
an  Oswego,  or  large-mouthed  bass.  Like  the 
largemouth,  the  "goggle-eyes"  will  readily 
clean  up  a  nest  on  masses  of  aquatic  moss  or 
chara.  Polygamy  has  not  been  reported  by  any 
authority.  The  male  guards  its  young  more 
sedulously  than  does  the  sun-fish,  and  falls  little 
behind  the  small-mouthed  bass  in  this  kindly 
duty. 

Calico-Bass. — Calico-bass  (grass-bass)  prefer 
water  that  is  quite  deep  for  nesting  purposes. 
For  this  reason  it  is  most  difficult  to  observe 
their  habits  during  the  spawning  season.  Why 


58  FISH  CULTUEE 

they  select  water  so  much  deeper  than  the  roct- 
bass  and  the  sun-fishes  can  only  be  explained  by 
the  possibility  that  they  prefer  semi-darkness 
while  spawning,  an  idea  strengthened  by  the 
fact  that  a  nearly  related  fish,  the  crappie,  will 
spawn  successfully  only  in  cloudy  water. 


CHAPTER  IV 
CAT-FISH  CULTURE 

IT  is  possible  to  take  eggs  from  the  cat-fish, 
but  there  is  no  necessity  for  doing  so.  Natural 
fertilisation  is  so  nearly  perfect,  the  care  given 
by  the  parent  to  incubation  and  to  the  young  is 
so  faithful  and  unremitting,  that  it  is  needless 
for  the  fish-culturist  to  increase  his  stock  by  the 
artificial  expression  of  eggs.  Moreover,  on  ac- 
count of  the  spiny  rays  on  the  pectoral  and  dor- 
sal fins,  the  operation  of  stripping  is  unpleas- 
ant, and  likely  to  be  very  painful,  to  the  man 
who  attempts  it. 

Spotted  Cat-fish. — There  is  one  species,  the 
spotted  cat-fish,  which  has  thus  far  defied  every 
effort  made  to  handle  it  successfully,  even  by 
pond-culture.  Hitherto  the  greatest  experts 
in  the  United  States  have  been  forced  to  ac- 
knowledge complete  defeat.  Spotted  cat-fish, 

59 


60  FISH  CULTURE 

when  transferred  to  hatchery  ponds,  absolutely 
refuse  to  breed,  and  show  no  signs  nor  indica- 
tions of  spawning;  for  this  reason  it  is  attract- 
ing considerable  attention.  At  one  of  the  meet- 
ings of  the  American  Fisheries  Society,  it  was 
suggested  that  possibly  success  might  be 
achieved  if  the  fish  were  placed  in  running 
water  instead  of  in  ponds.  Here  is  an  unbroken 
field,  but  one  of  great  value,  since  the  "  spotted 
cat  "  has  few  equals  among  fish  for  delicacy  of 
flavour.  Its  successful  introduction  into  waters 
which  do  not  now  contain  it  would  mean  very 
much  for  the  public. 

The  bullhead  and  yellow  cat-fish  offer  no  dif- 
ficulties whatever,  and  the  white  cat-fish  com- 
paratively few,  for  artificial  or  natural  breed- 
ing. In  the  matter  of  their  propagation  in 
ponds,  the  only  unhappy  feature  is  the  large 
percentage  of  mature  fish  which  are  apt  to  die 
about  the  spawning  period.  The  act  of  spawn- 
ing appears  to  be  nearly  as  hard  on  white  and 
yellow  cat-fish,  and  even  on  bullheads,  as  on 
the  shad  or  eel.  One  need  not  be  surprised  if 
he  finds  after  the  spawning  period  is  concluded 
that  he  has  lost  nearly  half  of  his  stock.  <The 


CAT-FISH  CULTUEE  61 

fish  at  that  time  contract  fungus  more  readily 
than  some  scaled  fishes. 

White  and  Yellow  Cat-fishes. — The  white  and 
yellow  cat-fishes,  when  transplanted  from  rivers 
like  the  Delaware  and  the  Hudson  into  interior 
waters  in  the  same  latitude,  develop  a  flavour 
excelled  by  very  few  species.  The  yellow  one 
takes  very  kindly  to  being  transferred  from  its 
native  environment,  and  land-locked,  while  the 
white  cat-fish  accommodates  itself  to  changes 
nearly  as  well.  Hence  the  culture  of  both  these 
species  can  be  profitably  carried  on  for  market 
purposes  in  towns  removed  some  distance  from 
sea-port  cities,  since  the  prices  for  them  in  city 
markets  are  very  encouraging. 

One  man  in  Pennsylvania  had  a  number  of  arti- 
ficial ponds,  each  covering  a  considerable  area  of 
ground.  One  or  more  of  them  had  formerly  been 
mill-dams.  At  a  certain  period  of  the  year  he  drew 
down  the  water,  thinned  out  his  stock  of  young  bull- 
heads by  netting  them  out  and  throwing  away  the 
smallest,  returning  to  the  water  only  the  largest  and 
best  appearing,  as  he  said  that  unless  such  thinning 
took  place  the  entire  stock  would  be  stunted  and  their 
market  value  depreciated. 

The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  has  for  sev- 


62  FISH  CULTURE 

eral  years  been  engaged  in  the  propagation  of  white 
and  yellow  cat-fish  on  a  large  scale.  It  has,  however, 
been  giving  very  little  attention  to  pond-construction 
for  this  species  of  fish,  simply  using  types  of  ponds 
already  built.  The  only  uniform  features  have  been 
natural  clay  banks  and  clay  bottoms  without  any 
gravel  coverings.  The  most  pretentious  ponds  as  far 
as  size  and  general  utility  are  concerned  are  at  Tor- 
resdale  Station,  in  Philadelphia.  One  is  150  feet 
square;  another  is  275  feet  long  and  90  feet  wide; 
others  are  about  100  feet  by  30  feet.  The  largest  is 
about  six  feet  deep  in  the  kettle,  with  an  average 
depth  of  a  foot  and  a  half  all  over  the  shelf.  It  was 
formerly  used  for  propagating  sun-fish  and  bass. 
It  is  excavated  throughout  and  is  fed  by  a  small 
stream.  The  first-mentioned  pond  is  supplied  by 
water  pumped  into  it  from  the  Delaware  River. 
White  and  yellow  cat-fish  do  equally  well  in  both 
ponds,  and  in  1908  the  square  pond  yielded  very  nearly 
200,000  cat-fish  from  about  300  brood  fish  of  both  sexes. 

Spawning  and  Care  of  Young. — The  spawn- 
ing habits  of  the  white  and  yellow  cat-fish  are 
interesting.  Although  a  nest-builder,  the  loca- 
tion of  the  home  and  the  habits  of  each  are  not- 
ably different  from  those  of  the  black  bass. 
Instead  of  selecting  a  stony  or  gravelly  spot  as 
a  small-mouthed  bass  would  do,  or  a  sandy 


CAT-FISH  CULTUEE  63 

place  like  the  sun-fish,  or  a  moss-grown  bottom 
like  the  large-mouthed  bass,  it  chooses  one  of 
the  banks  of  the  pond  or  a  sharp  depression  in 
the  bottom.  Here  is  excavated  a  tunnel  or  cave, 
sometimes  equal  in  length  to  the  fish  itself,  and 
several  times  larger  in  circumference. 

The  eggs,  and  there  are  many  of  them,  are 
deposited  thickly  on  the  bottom  of  the  excava- 
tion and  fertilised,  one  of  the  parents  taking  a 
position  over  them  with  only  its  head  projecting 
from  the  cavern.  Here  it  remains  almost  mo- 
tionless, rarely  leaving  for  any  purpose  except 
to  drive  away  an  intruder,  or  when  stirred  out 
by  a  stick.  Left  alone,  it  will  almost  imme- 
diately return  to  its  household  cares.  The  cat- 
fish is  a  solemn  and  forbidding-looking  creature 
about  the  head,  even  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, but  there  is  something  almost  savage 
in  its  aspect  when  guarding  a  nest.  The  cav- 
ern, the  position  which  the  fish  takes,  with  head 
only  projecting,  and  the  warlike  look  in  its  eyes, 
together  with  its  capacious  mouth,  bring  to 
mind  some  fabled  monster. 

Under  favourable  water-conditions  in  Penn- 
sylvania, both  the  white  and  yellow  cat-fishes 


64  FISH  CULTUEE 

begin  spawning  about  the  latter  part  of  June. 
The  period  of  incubation  is  about  two  weeks. 
As  soon  as  the  young  have  absorbed  their  sacs 
and  are  ready  to  swim  up  to  the  surface,  they 
are  coaxed  from  their  cavern  to  the  water  just 
outside  its  entrance.  Here  they  remain  for  a 
day  or  two,  being  driven  back  daily  into  the 
cave  when  the  sun  has  gone  down,  or  when  en- 
emies approach.  Little  by  little,  however,  they 
are  led  away,  though  kept  closely  herded,  until 
they  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  water  like  a 
big  quivering  black  ball.  In  this  manner  they 
work  slowly  back  and  forth  over  the  pond.  As 
they  move,  the  old  fish  swims  slowly  around 
them,  driving  back  into  the  mass  any  which  may 
stray.  At  this  stage  of  their  development  the 
fish-culturist  steps  in,  and  with  one  sweep  of  his 
long-handled  scoop-net  gathers  in  the  entire 
school  and  transfers  them  to  one  of  his  small 
ponds,  where  they  can  very  quickly  be  taught 
to  eat  ground  liver,  and,  later,  pieces  of  bread. 
The  fish  grow  quickly,  and  by  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember are  an  inch  or  more  long. 

Profit  in  Pond-culture  of  the  Cat-fish. — Few 
fishes  offer  greater  possibilities  than  some  of 


CAT-FISH  CULTUKE  65 

the  cat-fish,  notably  the  common  bullhead  and 
the  yellow  cat-fish.  Their  cultivation  is  pecul- 
iarly to  be  recommended  to  farmers.  Almost 
every  man  engaged  in  agriculture  possesses  a 
piece  of  low  wet  land  with  a  spring-run  or  a 
small  stream  flowing  through  it.  This  land  is 
perhaps  not  extensive  enough  for  ponds  of  a 
sufficient  size  for  commercial  value,  but  it  would 
have  to  be  less  than  half  an  acre  to  be  too  small 
to  be  converted  into  two  or  three  cat-fish  ponds 
large  enough  for  an  unfailing  supply  for  table 
use. 

Mature  fish  in  confinement  will  readily  take 
almost  any  food  which  may  be  given  them. 
They  eat  living  minnows,  dry  bread,  or  chopped 
lungs,  with  equal  gusto,  and  in  taking  any  float- 
ing food  make  a  sucking  noise  nearly  as  loud, 
and  remarkably  similar  to,  that  made  by  ill-bred 
men  when  eating  soup  or  drinking  coffee. 

Under  favourable  circumstances  cat-fish  will 
be  ready  for  the  market  when  nearly  two  years 
old,  and  certainly  at  the  age  of  three.  Their  re- 
markable tenacity  of  life  should  make  them  par- 
ticularly valuable  for  the  market,  since  there  is 
a  very  large  element  among  consumers  who  in- 


66  FISH  CULTURE 

sist  on  purchasing  alive  the  fish  they  want  for 
their  table,  and  living  fish  bring  a  much  higher 
price  than  those  which  are  sent  to  the  market 
dead. 

Preparation  of  Cat-fish  Ponds. — Construct 
one  pond  which  will  occupy  about  half  the  land 
available,  and  three  others  which  will  occupy 
the  other  half.  The  large  one  will  be  used  for 
breeding,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  fish  more 
than  one  year  old;  while  the  smaller  ponds  are 
for  the  rearing  of  young  fish  up  to  the  age  of 
one  year.  The  sorting  may  all  be  done  into 
these  three  ponds.  Two  or  three  ponds  about 
300  feet  long  and  100  feet  wide  each,  and  ten 
or  twelve  smaller  ponds,  would  yield  many  hun- 
dred thousand  healthy  fingerlings  and  yearlings 
to  be  sold  for  stocking  purposes.  If,  however, 
it  is  designed  to  raise  cat-fish  for  food  and  for 
market  there  must  be  a  decided  increase  in  the 
size  and  number  of  the  larger  ponds.  It  would 
not  be  advisable  to  increase  the  size  of  the  ponds 
'designed  for  keeping  those  less  than  a  year  old, 
because  they  could  not  be  easily  and  quickly 
.worked ;  but  it  might  be  desirable  to  increase  the 
number  in  order  to  permit  sorting  into  three 


CAT-FISH  CULTUEE  67 

or  more  sizes  at  least  three  times  in  the  first 
twelve  months. 

Sorting  fish  into  sizes  several  times  during  the  year 
is  a  very  important  duty  of  the  fish-culturist.  This 
is  true  even  when  the  young  are  not  pronouncedly 
cannibalistic.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  very  young 
fish  of  the  same  age  vary  considerably  in  size.  When 
allowed  to  remain  unsorted,  the  larger  annoy  the 
smaller,  will  not  allow  them  to  eat  until  they  them- 
selves are  gorged,  and  chase  them  around  the  pond 
between  meals.  As  a  result,  the  smaller  fishes  do  not 
grow,  at  least  at  the  same  rate  as  the  larger.  When 
sorting  is  practised,  the  majority  of  the  smaller,  if 
they  are  in  good  health,  rapidly  overtake  the  larger, 
and  there  is  not  much  difference  in  size  when  they 
reach  the  yearling  stage.  At  that  age,  the  smallest, 
or  cullings,  can  be  disposed  of,  leaving  the  others  in 
fine  shape  for  rearing  to  market  age.  Where  the 
species  are  cannibalistic,  sorting  is  imperative,  if  it 
is  not  desired  to  lose  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
young  stock. 

The  larger  the  volume  of  water  the  more 
rapidly  the  fish  will  grow.  The  quicker  the 
growth  the  sooner  the  fish  will  be  ready  for  the 
market.  Ponds  from  three  quarters  to  one  acre 
in  area  each  are  advised,  with  a  length  much 
greater  than  their  width.  Very  wide  ponds  are 


68  FISH  CULTURE 

to  be  avoided,  because  of  the  difficulty  in  han- 
dling the  nets  when  fish  are  to  be  removed,  un- 
less it  is  possible  to  draw  off  all  the  water  for 
that  purpose. 

The  character  of  the  sides  and  bottoms  of  the 
ponds  for  cat-fish  culture  is  important.  When 
ponds  are  built  for  most  types  of  fishes  the  bot- 
toms are  gravelled,  and  in  some  instances — 
trout-culture  for  example — the  sides  are  walled 
with  boards,  stone  or  concrete;  but  ponds  for 
cat-fish  must  have  the  banks  and  bottoms  of 
clay, — at  least  those  portions  where  the  fish 
spawn.  The  kettle,  or  deep  portion,  if  not  of 
clay,  may  be  of  heavy  mud,  but  not  too  deep. 

There  are  two  reasons  for  this :  first,  the  clay 
banks  and  bottoms  are  essential  as  nest-building 
and  spawning  places ;  second,  during  the  winter 
months  cat-fishes  burrow  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  They  cannot  do  this  where  the  bottom 
is  gravelly. 

Two  feet  is  a  sufficient  depth  for  the  shelf, 
although  two  and  one-half  or  even  three  feet 
is  more  desirable.  The  kettle  should  be  from 
five  to  six  feet  deep.  Cat-fish  do  better  where 
the  water  is  not  too  shallow,  and  for  this  reason 


CAT-FISH  CULTUKE  69 

the  greater  depth  of  the  shelf  is  advised.  The 
shelf,  a  shoal  part,  had  better  comprise  the 
greater  part  of  the  pond,  as  it  gives  a  larger 
spawning-surface.  The  kettle  naturally  will  be 
located  at  the  outlet  end.  Arrangements  for 
the  inflow  and  outflow  are  the  same  as  for  bass 
or  any  other  warm- water  fish-ponds — that  is, 
provide  an  inflow  pipe,  and  for  the  outflow  con- 
crete gate-frames  with  splash-boards  and 
screens.  About  the  same  amount  of  water  is 
ordinarily  used  as  for  black  bass,  although  cat- 
fish can  get  along  on  a  smaller  supply.  Too 
little  water  breeds  the  dangerous  fungus. 


CHAPTER  V 
CAEP  CULTUEE 

HAD  it  not  been  for  over-enthusiasm  carp 
farming  would  probably  now  be  a  very  large  and 
valuable  industry  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
fish  generally  regarded  with  friendly  eyes.  In- 
stead, it  is  undoubtedly  the  most  execrated  and 
unjustly  accused  fish  swimming  in  American 
waters. 

The  introducers  of  the  German  carp  have  been 
likened  to  Benedict  Arnold.  Many  men  have  advo- 
cated laws  putting  a  bounty  on  the  death  of  the  fish 
with  a  view  to  its  extermination.  Pennsylvania,  in 
order  to  prevent  its  increase,  carried  in  its  statute 
books  for  a  time  a  law  imposing  a  heavy  fine  on  any 
person  who  planted  carp  in  any  of  the  waters  of  that 
state. 

There  is  not  a  fish-crime  on  the  calendar  that  has 
not  been  charged  against  the  German  carp;  some 
rightly,  many  more  wrongly.  It  is  accused  of  being 

70 


CAEP  CULTUEE  71 

a  spawn-eater,  probably  with  justice;  also  of  destroy- 
ing water-plants,  which  are  almost  as  necessary  to 
the  well  being  of  fish-life  as  the  water  itself.  This 
charge  is  undoubtedly  true.  "Wherever  there  has  been 
a  decrease  in  game  fishes  it  has  been  accounted  re- 
sponsible. There  is  little  if  any  truth  in  this  last 
statement.  In  many  instances  where  carp  have  been 
pronounced  the  offenders,  the  decrease  has  been  traced 
to  other  agencies,  chief  among  them  man.  The  most 
widespread  condemnation  is  that  it  is  unfit  to  eat, 
as  its  flesh  has  a  strong  muddy  flavour  due  to  its 
habit  of  rooting  in  the  bottom  of  a  pond  or  stream. 

The  bad  reputation  of  the  carp  was  gained 
through  over  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  its 
friends,  and  misapprehension  regarding  the  re- 
quirements of  its  successful  pond-culture,  when 
first  introduced  into  the  United  States.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  while  the  carp  is  undoubtedly 
very  inferior  in  table  qualities  to  many  native 
food-fishes,  it  is  not  an  unpalatable  fish  when 
reared  in  a  suitable  environment.  It  cannot  be 
so,  since  it  is  found  on  the  bills  of  fare,  at  one 
dollar  a  portion,  of  high-class  restaurants  in 
New  York  and  elsewhere.  Without  doubt, 
many  persons  who  have  condemned  the  carp 
most  severely,  have  eaten  it  under  the  impres- 


72  FISH  CULTURE 

sion  that  they  were  being  served  with  something 
else.  Mr.  John  W.  Titcomb,  formerly  the  head 
of  the  Division  of  Fish  Hatching  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  relates  that  in  Jan- 
uary, 1902,  224  members  and  guests  of  the  North 
American  Fish  and  Game  Protective  Associa- 
tion were  served  with  carp  at  a  banquet,  ate  it 
and  pronounced  it  "good,"  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  baked  red  snapper. 

Bad  Reputation  Due  to  Improper  Culture. — 
When  the  carp  was  first  introduced  into  Amer- 
ica the  authorities  very  properly  stated  that  it 
was  a  highly  esteemed  fish  in  Germany  and  other 
parts  of  Europe ;  that  it  was  very  prolific,  easily 
cared  for,  suitable  for  warm  sluggish  waters, 
and  specially  adapted  to  pond  culture.  There 
was  an  instant  and  widespread  demand  for  the 
new  importation.  Farmers  who  had  duck- 
ponds,  built  perhaps  three  quarters  of  a  century 
before  and  never  cleaned,  stocked  them  with 
carp.  Others  built  for  their  reception  dams 
across  streams  on  their  bog-lands,  without  tak- 
ing the  trouble  to  clear  away  the  mud.  Almost 
any  muck-hole  containing  a  few  hundred  gallons 
of  water  was  considered  fit  to  be  utilised. 


CAEP  CULTUEE  73 

The  craze,  for  such  only  can  it  be  called, 
spread  rapidly  without  any  pretence  of  method 
or  intelligence  until  "almost  every  farmer  had  a 
carp  pond  in  his  front  yard,  back  yard,  barn 
yard,  or  somewhere."  The  crash  came  when 
the  fish  were  large  enough  to  be  killed.  As 
might  be  expected  they  were  inedible.  Their 
flesh  fairly  reeked  with  a  smell  and  a  taste  of 
filth.  The  disgusted  farmers  tore  down  their 
dams  and  liberated  the  fish  with  blackened  char- 
acters into  the  public  waters. 

Unquestionably  the  carp  is  inferior  to  almost 
every  other  fish  native  to  waters  like  those  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  if, 
when  it  was  first  introduced  into  this  country, 
fish-culture  had  been  advanced  as  far  as  it  is 
to-day,  carp-farming  would  probably  be  a  recog- 
nised industry,  yielding  in  the  aggregate  a  huge 
sum  of  money  annually.  As  it  is,  a  revulsion 
of  sentiment  is  slowly  but  surely  taking  place  in 
favour  of  this  importation  as  a  food-fish. 

Market  Value. — The  carp  undisputably  holds 
an  important  place  in  the  market.  It  is  worth 
several  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  the 
state  of  Illinois.  Over  40,000  pounds,  two- 


74  FISH  CULTURE 

thirds  of  which  come  from  other  states,  are  sold 
weekly  in  the  markets  of  Philadelphia,  while 
5,000,000  pounds  are  disposed  of  yearly  in  New 
York*  A  five-pound  live  carp  will  sometimes 
bring  more  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York  than 
a  Delaware  Eiver  roe-shad  of  the  same  weight. 
Almost  the  entire  industry  in  America  to-day 
depends  on  the  carp  caught  from  the  rivers  and 
lakes,  although  a  large  proportion  are  held  in 
temporary  ponds  and  pens  before  being  sent  to 
market. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  if  states  now 
condemning  this  fish  would  recognise  its  market 
value,  would  give  encouragement  to  its  citizens 
and  would  instruct  them  in  the  proper  methods 
of  culture,  capital  would  speedily  be  invested 
and  carp-farming  become  a  profitable  industry, 
as  it  is  to-day  in  Germany.  It  should  become 
profitable,  because  the  demand  for  carp  in  the 
large  cities  is  generally  greater  than  the  supply, 
and  because  in  the  smaller  cities  a  demand  can 
likely  be  made  for  the  fish.  As  carp-farming  is 
not  generally  carried  on  in  this  country,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  how  large  a  tract  would  be 
necessary  to  insure  very  profitable  returns,  but 


CAEP  CULTUEE  73 

probably  any  reasonable  amount  would  yield 
fully  as  much,  acre  for  acre,  as  land  devoted  to 
vegetable  produce.  This  is  important,  since  a 
carp-farm  can  be  established  on  land  which  or- 
dinarily yields  little  or  nothing. 

Ponds. — Hatching-houses  and  expensive  ap- 
paratus are  unnecessary.  The  entire  business 
may  be  conducted  by  pond-culture.  Mr.  Leon 
J.  Cole,  who  prepared  a  bulletin  for  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  in  1905,  entitled 
" German  Carp  in  the  United  States,"  says: 

"A  well  appointed  carp-cultural  establishment  has 
at  least  three  kinds  of  ponds,  each  adapted  for  a  par- 
ticular phase  of  industry. 

"1.  Spawning  ponds. — Shallow  ponds  in  which  the 
water  is  easily  warmed  by  the  sun  and  suitable  for 
the  spawning  fish. 

"2.  Raising  ponds. — Ponds  usually  of  medium  size, 
to  which  the  fry  are  transferred  and  where  they  are 
retained,  isolated  from  the  larger  fish,  until  they  are 
a  year  or  two  old. 

"3.  Stock  ponds. — Large  ponds  in  which  the  fish 
are  kept  until  they  have  reached  a  marketable  size; 
this  is  usually  considered  to  be  when  they  have  reached 
a  weight  of  two  and  three-quarters  pounds  to  two  and 
a  half  pounds." 


76  FISH  CULTURE 

To  these  Mr.  Cole  adds  a  fourth  type,  namely 
winter  ponds,  located  in  sheltered  spots,  which 
should  have  a  depth  of  six  to  eight  feet.  Winter 
ponds  are  only  necessary  where  the  stock  or 
raising  ponds  are  not  suitable  for  carrying  fish 
from  autumn  to  spring,  that  is  to  say,  where 
the  water  would  freeze  to  or  nearly  to  the 
bottom. 

Generally,  it  is  not  wise  to  build  any  ponds 
for  the  cultivation  of  carp  by  damming  a  stream 
unless  there  is  no  possibility  of  a  freshet. 
Should  it  be  found  cheaper,  and  otherwise  good 
policy,  to  build  in  this  manner,  an  artificial 
ditch  should  be  built  the  whole  length  of  the 
pond,  at  one  side,  to  carry  off  surplus  water. 
If  a  dam  built  across  a  pond  were  to  break  out, 
or  an  overflow  to  occur  of  any  considerable 
depth,  an  almost  total  loss  of  fish  would  result. 
This  is  peculiarly  the  case  with  carp,  for  that 
fish  more  than  most  follows  currents  and 
changes  in  depths.  If  surrounding  land  be- 
comes submerged,  for  instance,  nearly  every 
carp  will  swim  from  the  pond  to  the  submerged 
lands. 

The  third  type,  described  by  Mr.  Cole  as  the 


CAEP  CULTUEE  77 

"  stock-pond, "  should  be  as  large  in  area  as 
possible ;  it  may  properly  be  two  or  more  acres 
in  extent.  Conditions  which  call  for  restricted 
areas  for  other  species  of  fish  do  not  obtain 
with  carp,  on  account  of  its  proneness  to  follow 
currents,  so  that  there  need  be  hardly  any 
restriction  placed  upon  the  size.  It  is  only 
important  that,  apart  from  the  wintering 
quarters  or  kettle,  there  should  be  at  the  lower 
end  splash-boards  or  gates  which  can  be  opened 
easily  to  permit  the  water  to  be  drawn  off  rap- 
idly along  a  race  or  ditch  into  a  pool  known  as 
a  "fish-pit,"  into  which  the  carp  will  go  and 
where  they  can  be  netted  out. 

If  desired,  and  this  is  recommended  by  Mr. 
Cole,  the  fish-pit  can  be  in  the  pond  itself  at 
the  place  of  outlet.  Ditches  from  various  parts 
of  the  pond  lead  into  other  ditches  which  are 
deeper,  and  these  finally  lead  into  the  fish-pit 
itself  whence  they  can  be  taken  out  with  dip- 
nets. 

Care  of  Carp. — There  ought  to  be  at  least  two 
stock-ponds  so  that  one  can  be  annually  drained, 
cleansed  of  sediment,  and  purified  by  the  action 
of  air  and  weather.  To  insure  the  best  results 


78  FISH  CULTUEE 

there  should  be  a  large  number  of  spawning- 
ponds  of  small  size,  each  large  enough  to  hold 
not  more  than  five  fish,  three  females  and  two 
males.  They  must  also  be  very  shallow  so  that 
the  water  may  be  warmed  rapidly  by  the  sun. 
Such  ponds  need  not  be  more  than  20  feet  long, 
and  eight  or  ten  feet  wide.  Eaising-ponds  for 
advanced  fry,  fingerlings  and  yearlings,  must 
of  necessity  be  much  larger,  and  somewhat 
deeper  than  spawning-ponds.  They  should  not, 
however,  be  of  so  great  an  area  that  they  can  not 
be  easily  seined,  and  the  fish  handled  quickly 
and  thoroughly ;  but  they  must  be  large  enough 
to  carry  safely  a  number  for  at  least  one  year, 
preferably  two. 

To  facilitate  growth,  the  water  should  be 
moderately  warm,  mostly  shallow,  and  the  ponds 
supplied  with  an  abundance  of  aquatic  vegeta- 
tion. A  large  volume  of  water  is  not  essential, 
but  enough  to  insure  proper  aeration  and  to  pre- 
vent too  high  a  temperature  is  necessary.  Con- 
trary to  widespread  belief  there  can  be  an  ex- 
cessive water-temperature,  even  for  carp. 

Eudolph  Hessel,  in  his  work  "The  Carp  and 
Its  Culture  in  Eivers  and  Lakes  and  Its  Intro- 


CAEP  CULTUEE  79 

Iduetion  into  America,"  says  that  the  inflow  of 
water  into  the  pond  should  never  be  allowed  to 
be  direct;  as,  for  instance,  a  brook  falling  into 
it.  "This  often  causes  the  water  to  rise  at  an 
inopportune  time,  carrying  into  the  pond  other 
fishes,  especially  the  rapacious  pike.  The  carp 
also  has  the  disposition  to  swim  towards  the  in- 
flowing water,  by  which  means  it  is  drawn  away 
from  its  proper  feeding  place."  If  this  is  cor- 
rect, and  from  the  investigation  of  Mr.  Cole  it 
appears  to  be,  then  the  inflow  should  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  not  unduly  to  attract  the  fish  to  the 
spot. 

Kinds  of  Carp. — There  are  three  well  defined 
species  of  introduced  carp  more  or  less  common 
in  American  waters ;  namely  the  leather,  mirror, 
and  scale  carp.  The  leather  carp  is  dis- 
tinguished by  its  having  no  scales,  or  only  a 
few  on  its  back,  but,  instead,  a  thick  soft  skin, 
velvety  to  the  touch.  The  mirror  has  three  or 
four  rows  of  very  large  scales  on  its  sides,  the 
rows  being  separated  by  a  scaleless  skin.  The 
scale  carp  is  completely  covered  with  scales,  and 
is  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  developed  form 
of  the  original  species.  All  three  are  rapid 


80  FISH  CULTURE 

growers,  attaining  heavy  weights  and  having  the 
reputation  of  great  longevity.  Specimens 
weighing  from  20  to  25  pounds  are  not  uncom- 
mon, and  occasionally  there  are  found  some, 
particularly  of  the  mirror  carp,  which  will  turn 
the  scales  at  40  pounds.  In  water  of  ordinary 
temperature  carp  will  acquire  a  weight  of  from 
three  to  three  and  a  half  pounds  when  three 
years  old,  and  where  the  water  is  warmer  they 
sometimes  reach  it  in  a  year  or  two. 

Spawning  Habits. — In  the  warmer  parts  of 
the  United  States  carp  begin  spawning  as  early 
as  April,  but  in  the  Middle  States  not  until  May 
and  June.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  they 
require  three  years  to  reach  maturity;  but  it 
is  said  that  under  very  favourable  circum- 
stances they  sometimes  spawn  when  only  two 
years  old.  According  to  Eobert  A.  Poppe,  carp 
have  been  known  to  spawn  when  nine  months 
old.  Whatever  the  age,  fish  first  spawning  are 
from  three  to  four  pounds  in  weight,  with  a 
length  of  from  15  to  18  inches.  The  eggs  are 
very  small,  but  the  number  to  each  female  is 
exceedingly  large,  a  female  weighing  from  four 
to  five  pounds  yielding  from  40,000  to  50,000 


CAEP  CULTUEE  81 

eggs.  A  fish  of  16%  pounds  may  have  over 
2,000,000. 

The  carp  is  not  a  nest-building  fish.  The 
eggs  are  deposited  carelessly  about  in  shallow 
water,  and  then  abandoned.  As  they  are 
strongly  adhesive  they  become  firmly  attached 
to  the  roots  of  grasses  on  the  bottom  wherever 
they  happen  to  fall.  They  develop  rapidly  in 
water  having  a  temperature  of  69  degrees,  and 
hatch  in  five  or  six  days,  but  in  the  Middle 
States,  under  ordinary  conditions  and  favour- 
able temperature,  they  require  only  about 
twelve  days. 

On  account  of  the  great  number  of  eggs  pro- 
duced many  breeders  are  not  required.  Into 
each  spawning-pond  should  be  placed  either  two 
females  and  one  male,  or  three  females  and  two 
males,  constituting  a  "  spawning  party. "  Ac- 
cording to  Cole,  the  spawning  is  not  confined 
to  any  particular  time  of  the  day,  though  it 
apparently  takes  place  during  the  morning 
hours,  probably  about  daylight.  Mr.  Hessel 
says:  "The  female  drops  only  about  from  400 
to  500  eggs  at  a  time,  and  it  will  require  days 
and  weeks  before  she  has  given  up  the  last  egg. 


82  FISH  CULTURE 

There  is  some  doubt  also  as  to  whether  the  eggs 
are  extruded  while  the  fish  is  in  motion,  or,  as 
is  the  case  with  the  shad,  whether  the  function 
takes  place  while  the  fish  is  not  moving."  In- 
stances have  been  known,  however,  where  sev- 
eral thousand  eggs  were  deposited  at  one  time. 
A  female  carp  weighing  16  pounds,  in  the  Fair- 
mount  Park  Aquarium,  Philadelphia,  deposited 
in  a  single  night,  on  one  occasion,  eggs  esti- 
mated to  number  20,000  or  more. 

Mr.  Cole,  in  writing  of  the  spawning  habits 
of  the  carp,  makes  the  following  assertion: — 

"I  was  unable  to  tell  at  what  moment  the  actual 
spawning  took  place,  though  I  observed  at  times  that 
one  of  the  males  would  work  forward  near  the  female 
until  they  were  swimming  nearly  side  by  side,  when 
he  would  turn  somewhat  on  his  side,  and  bring  his 
ventral  fin  closer  under  the  female.  At  such  a  time 
the  body  of  the  male  usually  shook  with  a  sort  of  quick 
vibrating  movement  (though  this  was  not  always  ob- 
served to  be  the  case)  and  it  was  then,  too,  that  the 
most  violent  splashing  of  water  occurred.  It  is  prob- 
ably at  this  time  that  the  eggs  were  laid  and  fertil- 
ized. "  Fish-culturists  agree  that  during  the  actual 
spawning  time  the  operation  is  accompanied  by  con- 
siderable splashing. 


CAEP  CULTUEE  83 

The  spawning-ponds  should  all  have  a  moder- 
ately hard  bottom,  and  if  it  is  intended  that  the 
eggs  are  to  remain  for  hatching  where  they  are 
deposited,  then  there  should  be  a  thick  growth 
of  aquatic  plants  to  which  the  spawn  can  ad- 
here. One  experienced  carp-culturist,  however, 
kept  his  spawning-ponds  entirely  clear  of  plant- 
life.  Instead,  he  had  sheets  of  bagging  ma- 
terial on  which  he  fastened  thickly  bunches  of 
grass  and  plants,  and  to  each  corner  of  the 
sheet  he  affixed  a  weighted  pole.  This  contriv- 
ance he  placed  in  the  pond  and  then  introduced 
his  spawning  fish.  Every  day  he  removed  the 
apparatus  to  a  pond  containing  no  fish,  so  that 
the  eggs  adhering  to  it  could  hatch  without  any 
danger  of  their  being  devoured.  Fresh  sheets 
were  then  placed  in  the  ponds  with  the 
spawners. 

Precautions. — There  ought  to  be  no  difficulty 
in  taking  the  eggs  from  the  female  and  impreg- 
nating them  artificially,  in  which  case  time  and 
labour  would  be  saved.  Under  some  circum- 
stances these  eggs  could  be  treated  the  same  as 
goldfish's  eggs  when  taken  artificially,  that  is, 
placed  upon  sheeting  and  submerged. 


84  FISH  CULTURE 

After  the  sacs  of  the  fish  have  been  absorbed, 
or  after  they  have  reached  a  size  which  will 
not  permit  of  their  being  retained  in  the  spawn- 
ing-ponds longer,  they  must  be  transferred  to 
the  rearing-ponds.  By  autumn  they  will  be 
from  three  to  four  inches  long,  and  the  follow- 
ing spring  they  can  be  sorted  and  placed  in  dif- 
ferent rearing-ponds  according  to  size.  Al- 
though not  a  carnivorous  fish,  strictly  speak- 
ing, sorting  into  sizes  is  still  desirable,  as,  when 
all  are  kept  together  in  one  pond,  growth  is  not 
rapid. 

The  rearing-pond  should  be  supplied  not  only 
with  water  plants  but  also  with  large  quantities 
of  small  crustaceans,  a  favourite  food  of  the 
carp.  They  are  especially  fond  of  daphnia, 
hence  the  growth  of  this  minute  creature  should 
be  encouraged.  But  the  carp  is  an  omnivorous 
feeder,  and  may  be  given  almost  anything  which 
comes  to  hand.  They  will  eagerly  devour 
bread,  partly  boiled  potatoes,  turnips,  grain,  or 
even  chopped  young  corn-leaves.  They  will 
not  disdain  flesh,  as  they  will  eat  both  lungs  and 
liver. 

When  shipping  to  the  market,  if  the  distance 


CAEP  CULTURE  85 

is  not  too  great  they  may  be  carried  alive  by 
laying  them  on  wet  grass  and  covering  them 
with  it.  It  is  only  necessary,  it  is  said,  to  keep 
the  body  and  gills  wet.  If  the  distance  be  too 
great  to  carry  them  in  this  manner  then  they 
may  be  transported  in  shallow  tanks  of  water. 


CHAPTER  VI 
WATER  FOR  TROUT  CULTURE 

IN  selecting  a  site  for  a  hatchery  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  trout,  two  conditions  are  to  be  ob- 
served— one,  that  there  be  a  slope  to  the  ground, 
and  the  other  a  spring  of  proper  quality  and 
volume,  or,  in  lieu  of  the  spring,  a  good  stream 
of  cold,  rapidly  running  and  clean  water,  and 
free  from  frequent  flooding.  The  best  supply 
is  derived  from  a  deep  spring,  since  such 
springs  seldom  run  dry,  or  change  materially 
in  volume  or  temperature. 

Quality  of  Water. — Some  men  suppose  that 
a  very  large  volume  of  water  is  required  to  suc- 
cessfully carry  on  a  trout-hatchery,  but  this  is 
a  mistake.  A  moderate,  steady  supply  of 
water  of  even  temperature,  thoroughly  aerated, 
will  produce  as  satisfactory  results  as  a  large 
body,  if  skillfully  utilised.  Nevertheless  he  is 
a  fortunate  man  who  owns  a  spring  that  fur- 

86 


WATER  FOB  TROUT  CULTURE      87 

Irishes  more  water  than  he  thinks  he  can  pos- 
sibly use.  Where  a  spring  is  of  small  volume 
the  hatchery  supply  may  be  augmented  under 
certain  conditions  by  water  from  a  stream. 
When  this  course  is  pursued  it  is  better  that  the 
flow  from  the  stream  be  used  for  the  ponds  en- 
tirely, and  that  from  the  spring  first  for  the 
hatching  and  nursery  troughs,  and  then  for 
ponds  where  the  two  may  be  mingled  if  found 
most  convenient.  It  is  held,  indeed,  by  many 
fish-culturists,  that  while  spring  water  is  best 
for  hatching  trout  eggs,  stream  water  is  better 
for  rearing  fish  after  they  are  four  months  old. 
Artesian  or  other  very  deep  wells  may  be  used 
for  the  increased  supply  of  water. 

I  am  one  who  holds  that  trout-stream  water 
of  good  volume,  which  can  be  flowed  through 
ponds  without  causing  an  undue  rise  in  tem- 
perature in  summer,  is  better  under  some  cir- 
cumstances than  an  outflow  directly  from  a 
spring.  Creek  water  possesses  both  aeration 
and  animal  life,  and  is  usually  a  little  higher 
in  temperature  during  the  best  growing  period 
of  the  trout,  a  very  desirable  feature,  especially 
when  the  fish  are  in  the  fingerling  and  yearling 


88  FISH  CULTUEE 

stages.  Water  which  is  at  times  slightly  im- 
pregnated with  mud  of  a  certain  character 
appears  to  be  harmless,  and  often  is  actually 
beneficial.  Spring  water,  however,  is  prefer- 
able to  creek  water  for  hatching  purposes.  If, 
however,  it  is  necessary  to  depend  on  stream 
water  for  hatching  purposes,  it  would  be  well 
to  arrange  some  device  by  which  it  can  be  fil- 
tered before  its  entry  into  the  hatching-house. 
Water-Supply  Most  Important. — Prospective 
fish-culturists  should  give  the  greatest  atten- 
tion to  the  character  of  the  water-supply,  be- 
cause on  it  depends  primarily  success  or  failure. 
To  be  sure  of  its  excellence  is  more  important 
than  the  location  of  the  hatchery,  a  heavy  pitch 
in  the  land,  or  proximity  to  a  town  or  a  railroad 
station.  An  artificial  pitch  in  the  land  can 
usually  be  created.  Ponds  can  all,  or  most  of 
them,  be  built  above  the  ground  when  necessary 
to  insure  a  proper  flow  and  aeration  through- 
out; horses  or  motors  can  in  time  reach  the 
nearest  railroad  station  or  town;  but  if  the 
water  falls  below  requirements  either  in  steady 
quantity  or  quality,  the  place  is  useless  for  a 
trout  hatchery. 


WATEE  FOE  TEOUT  CULTUEE      89 

As  an  axiom,  a  fish-culturist  should  bear  in 
mind  that  if  losses  occur  they  are  almost  sure 
to  be  wholesale  and  not  retail,  so  to  speak. 
Trifling  changes  in  the  character  or  conditions 
of  the  water-supply  may  mean  the  loss  of  every 
fish.  In  1889,  the  Pennsylvania  Fish  Commis- 
sion lost  over  2,000,000  advanced  fry,  partly  be- 
cause, during  a  thaw  after  a  severe  snow-storm, 
a  vast  quantity  of  surface  water  flowed  into  the 
spring  which  supplied  the  hatching  troughs, 
and  so  diminished  the  supply  of  oxygen  that 
there  was  not  sufficient  to  sustain  the  lives  of 
the  little  creatures.  Hence,  when  a  station  is 
located,  it  is  advisable  to  so  guard  and  wall  in 
the  spring  that  little  or  no  snow,  or  in  fact, 
surface  water  of  any  kind,  can  flow  into  it. 
What  is  of  equal  importance,  drainage  from 
barnyards,  tanneries,  or  any  industrial  estab- 
lishments, must  be  carefully  excluded  from  all 
water  used,  for  pollution  of  that  character  is 
fatal  to  trout.  Such  pollution,  indeed,  is  to  be 
guarded  against  in  all  pisciculture. 

It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that  water  be 
very  cold  to  raise  trout  successfully.  Nor  is  it 
essential,  as  before  stated,  that  it  be  of  an  even 


90  FISH  CULTUEE 

temperature  the  year  round,  but  it  ought  to  be 
well  aerated.  Aeration  must  be  more  thorough 
and  more  carefully  attended  to  the  farther  the 
water  progresses  towards  the  lower  end  of  the 
hatchery  grounds.  Trout  will  live  and  grow 
and  remain  comparatively  healthy,  it  is  said, 
in  ponds  where  the  temperature  rises  on  occa- 
sions to  a  little  above  seventy  degrees — some 
writers  say  eighty  degrees,  provided  there  is 
abundant  aeration ;  but  water  of  such  high  tem- 
perature is  not  to  be  desired. 

The  warmer  the  water  the  shorter  the  period 
of  incubation.  The  shorter  the  time  of  incuba- 
tion, below  a  certain  point,  the  more  danger 
there  is  of  weak  fish  being  produced.  The  best 
temperature  for  hatching  trout  eggs  is  between 
45  and  50  degrees.  This  will  make  the  period 
of  incubation  from  45  to  60  days.  A  tempera- 
ture between  50  and  60  degrees  is  good  for 
young  and  mature  trout  in  the  ponds.  A  lower 
temperature  is  not  injurious,  but  when  it  falls 
close  to  the  freezing  point  incubation  is  re- 
tarded sometimes  from  100  to  120  days.  While 
this  is  not  injurious  it  is  apt  to  give  the  fish- 


WATER  FOB  TROUT  CULTURE      91 

culturist  more  work,  for  if  the  water  at  the 
end  of  that  time  warms  appreciably,  the  eggs 
are  apt  to  hatch  almost  simultaneously. 

Limestone,  otherwise  called  hard  water,  is  as 
good  for  trout-breeding  as  soft,  although,  in 
some  circumstances,  more  prone  to  encourage 
fungus,  unless  it  should,  as  sometimes  happens, 
contain  an  overplus  of  organic  matter.  A  little 
iron  in  the  water  will  not  prove  harmful,  but 
some  mineral  substances  are  undesirable,  and 
in  large  quantities  fatal;  for  example,  a  sul- 
phur impregnation  is  likely  to  prove  hurtful,  as 
also  is  very  much  iron. 

A  limestone  spring  may  prove  dangerous 
apart  from  its  mineral  qualities  for  a  reason 
unsuspected  by  those  who  have  not  had  expe- 
rience with  one  of  that  type  and  its  possible 
vagaries.  This  danger  is  the  liability  of  the 
underground  stream  which  feeds  the  spring  to 
suddenly  change  its  course,  abandon  its  outlet 
and  seek  another.  A  change  of  this  kind  may 
occur  as  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  raise  the 
body  of  the  spring  by  damming  it,  thus  increas- 
ing the  weight  and  pressure  on  the  channel 


92  FISH  CULTURE 

which  the  subterranean  stream  Has  dissolved 
out  of  the  limestone  beneath  until  it  breaks 
through  some  thin  partition  and  flows  else- 
where. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

TEOUT    PONDS   AND    HOW    TO    BUILD 
THEM 

ONE  vital  requirement  in  selecting  a  site  for 
a  trout-breeding  establishment  is  that  water 
can  be  carried  into  the  hatching-house  at  such 
a  height  as  to  permit  a  flow  through  the 
troughs,  allow  drainage  from  the  building  and 
at  the  same  time  supply  the  ponds.  There  must 
therefore  be  some  fall  of  land  away  from  the 
spring  or  intake. 

The  degree  of  fall  needed  depends  on  how 
the  troughs  are  to  be  set  in  the  hatching-house, 
and  the  manner  of  building  the  ponds.  If  only 
one  row  of  troughs  is  to  be  used,  a  decided  pitch 
is  immaterial  because  they  may  be  placed  upon 
the  floor,  in  which  case  a  fall  of  two  feet  will 
be  sufficient;  for  troughs  in  two  tiers,  3%  feet 
from  the  flow  will  meet  the  requirements ;  if  the 
water  is  to  be  used  three  times,  by  employing 


94  FISH  CULTUEE 

three  tiers,  the  fall  must  be  nearly  five  feet.  It 
is  now  considered  immaterial  whether  the 
ponds  are  below  or  above  the  natural  surface, 
so  long  as  the  water  can  be  successfully  brought 
into  the  first  set  of  ponds  an<i  from  thence  in 
a  well  aerated  condition  to  those  below.  The 
more  quickly  the  water  can  be  passed  through 
the  better,  provided  a  proper  volume  be  not  ex- 
ceeded, particularly  where  fingerlings  are  being 
held. 

Planning  an  Establishment. — There  must 
be  at  least  five  ponds  for  the  smallest  establish- 
ment; one  for  the  advanced  fry  or  fingerlings, 
on  their  removal  from  the  nursery  troughs,  a 
second  in  which  to  place  fingerlings  after  they 
have  been  sorted  in  the  summer;  a  third  for 
yearlings;  a  fourth  for  two-year-olds  and  a 
fifth  for  three-year-olds  and  over,  providing 
such  fish  are  to  be  retained.  If  the  plant  is  to 
be  of  any  considerable  size,  the  location  and  type 
of  the  whole  series  of  ponds  ought  to  be  well 
considered  and  planned,  even  though  there  be 
no  intention  of  building  some  of  them  for  sev- 
eral years.  They  should  be  as  carefully  con- 
sidered and  planned  as  a  house. 


TROUT  PONDS  95 

Unless  the  supply  of  water  is  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  unlimited,  the  water  should  never 
be  " split,"  or  divided  into  more  series  of  ponds 
than  can  possibly  be  avoided.  If  with  a  limited 
supply  splitting  is  unavoidable  it  is  important 
that  the  water  be  reunited  into  a  single  series 
of  ponds  in  the  shortest  distance,  even  though 
splitting  again  be  required,  because  any  ap- 
preciable diminution  of  the  volume  of  flow  is 
likely  to  cause  a  rise  in  temperature  and  con- 
sequent loss  in  the  "life"  of  the  water. 

Shape  and  Size. — The  shape  of  ponds  should 
be  such  that  the  current  may  flow  through  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  leave  the  least  amount  of 
dead  water ;  and  also  it  is  desirable  to  adopt  a 
shape  which  will  permit  of  easy  netting.  A 
rectangular  pond,  whether  square  or  oblong,  is 
not  the  best,  therefore,  for  fulfilment  of  both  re- 
quirements, yet  it  is  the  one  most  easily  and 
cheaply  built ;  the  ground  space  is  best  utilised ; 
and  this  is  unquestionably  the  best  form  when 
a  "nest,"  or  series,  of  ponds  is  to  be  built  at  the 
same  time  or  in  the  near  future.  Oblong  ponds 
with  rounded  ends  are  even  better. 

Ponds  constructed  in  nests  or  groups  and  fed 


96  FISH  CULTUEE 

from  a  common  open  race  or  sluice  are  most 
desirable  for  many  reasons.  They  are  more 
easily  worked  and  attended  and,  what  is  much 
to  be  desired,  a  simple  drainage  system  can  be 
more  easily  provided.  In  this  way  also  there 
can  be  more  ponds,  with  a  less  amount  of  water 
per  minute  than  when  built  separately.  Al- 
ways, in  laying  out  ponds,  care  should  be  taken 
to  make  them  suitable  for  various  sizes  and 
ages  of  trout,  and  to  arrange  them  with  a  view 
not  only  to  their  being  worked  conveniently  but 
also  for  the  advantageous  growth  of  fish. 

Ponds  for  trout  which  have  arrived  at  full 
maturity  can  be  built  nearest  the  spring  or 
where  the  water  is  coldest,  because,  having  at- 
tained their  growth,  warmer  water  is  no  longer 
desired,  and  also  because  fish  three  or  more 
years  old  naturally  spawn  before  the  two-year- 
olds,  and  cold  water  has  a  tendency  to  retard 
the  ripening  of  their  eggs.  The  longer  this 
function  can  be  delayed  within  reason,  the  bet- 
ter are  the  chances  for  hatching  healthy  young. 

It  is  advisable  to  construct  ponds  for  two- 
year-olds  next;  those  for  yearlings  still  farther 
away;  and  those  for  fingerlings  and  nursery 


METHODS  OF  SHADING  TROUT  PONDS. 


TEOUT  PONDS  97 

fish  where  the  water  is  the  warmest,  so  as  to 
advance  their  growth  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
Ponds  for  fingerlings  should  be  so  constructed 
that  the  water-supply  may  be  augmented  and 
decreased  at  will.  No  pond,  however,  should 
be  built  at  such  a  distance  from  the  intake  that 
the  temperature  of  the  water  would  be  so  high 
as  to  render  necessary  a  very  heavy  volume,  as 
that  is  not  good  for  trout  in  the  first  year  of 
their  lives. 

Shading. — There  ought  to  be  a  generous 
space  between  at  least  every  other  pond  so  that 
trees  may  be  planted.  Trees  not  only  keep 
the  water  cool  in  hot  summer  days,  but  also  are 
useful  in  that  they  breed  insects  which  fall  into 
the  water  and  furnish  food  for  the  fish.  Wil- 
lows are  probably  the  best  trees  to  plant  for 
this  purpose,  because  of  their  rapidity  of 
growth,  because  their  leaves  do  not  make  so 
much  dirt  in  the  ponds  as  most  other  trees,  and 
because  their  long  drooping  branches  and 
slender  leaves  act  as  a  fan,  thus  producing  a 
cool  breeze  on  the  hottest  day  in  summer.  The 
only  objection  to  the  willow  is  that  the  fine 
roots  force  their  way  in  sponge-like  masses 


98  FISH  CULTUEE 

through  the  banks  of  the  ponds;  but  this  does 
not  occur  when  the  sides  are  of  concrete  or  of 
well  kept  boarding. 

While,  strictly  speaking,  appliances  for  shad- 
ing ponds  may  seem  to  come  in  the  chapter  de- 
tailing methods  of  caring  for  fish  out-doors, 
rather  than  in  one  of  pond  construction,  I  feel 
that  it  is  well  to  mention  it  here.  A  common 
method  is  to  lay  3-by-4  studding  across  a  pond 
near  the  middle,  about  five  feet  apart,  and  nail 
inch-boards  thereon.  This  method  is  doubtless 
as  effective  as  any  other  but  it  is  neither  sightly 
nor  durable,  as  such  a  structure  speedily  be- 
comes rotten  and  is  soon  likely  to  break  under 
weights  of  snow.  The  best  shade-covers  for 
ponds  of  ordinary  size  for  mature  fish  are  made 
by  building  a  double  pitched  roof  of  lumber. 
Snow  cannot  break  this  down,  and  it  is  easier 
to  work  the  net  beneath  it.  Such  a  roof  should 
cover  the  middle  third  of  the  pond  at  least;  my 
experience  has  been  that  fingerlings  in  the  nurs- 
ery did  much  better  when  the  entire  pond  was 
covered  and  the  fish  kept  in  nearly  complete 
'darkness. 

Sides  and  Bottoms. — There  is  much  discus- 


TEOUT  PONDS  99 

sion  as  to  what  it  is  best  to  do  with  the  sides 
of  the  trout-ponds.  Many  fish-culturists  ad- 
vocate "going  back  to  nature, "  as  they  express 
it, — that  is  to  have  natural  banks  without  walls 
or  stays  of  any  kind.  There  are,  however,  obvi- 
ously many  objections  to  doing  this,  except 
where  ponds  are  nearly  if  not  quite  half  an 
acre  in  extent,  among  which  are  exposure  to 
the  ravages  of  the  crayfish,  muskrats  and  other 
burrowing  creatures,  and  the  danger  of  the 
earth  sliding  in  early  spring,  when  the  frost 
comes  out  of  the  ground. 

I  cannot  see  that  the  advantages  of  natural 
sides  are  equal  to  the  disadvantages.  A  very 
common  practice  is  to  construct  the  sides  of 
inch-boards  nailed  to  stays  of  2-by-4  lumber  and 
posts,  and  this  does  well  if  the  lumber  is  given 
a  good  coating  of  tar  when  first  built,  renewed 
every  two  or  three  years.  Tar  is  harmless  to 
the  fish  when  dried  before  the  water  is  turned 
in,  and  is  a  foe  to  many  fungoids.  Sides  made 
of  lumber,  however,  are  neither  as  sightly  nor 
as  enduring  as  walls  made  of  cement,  which 
is  nearly  as  cheap  as  lumber  and  sometimes 
cheaper.  Occasionally,  where  the  soil  affords  a 


100  FISH  CULTURE 

poor  foundation,  it  is  not  feasible  to  use  cement, 
in  which  case  hollow  building-tile  is  strongly 
recommended;  blocks  24  inches  long,  8  inches 
wide  and  6  inches  thick  may  be  used  success- 
fully, and  will  form  a  wall  as  durable  and 
attractive  as  cement.  If  a  pond  is  only  about 
two  or  three  feet  deep  the  tile  can  be  set  in 
concrete  on  edge,  making  a  six-inch  wall ;  when 
the  water  is  deeper,  and  the  sub-soil  very  mucky, 
the  tile  must  be  laid  sidewise,  making  an  eight- 
inch  wall.  Stone  is  sometimes  used  for  sides, 
but  unless  faced  with  cement  it  affords  hiding 
places  for  crayfish,  snakes,  and  other  undesir- 
able creatures,  and  also  refuges  for  trout  when 
netting  a  pond. 

Now  and  then  a  fish-culturist  will  advocate 
covering  the  bottom  of  a  pond  with  concrete  or 
boards.  I  have  seen  both  in  hatcheries  where 
fish-culture  is  conducted  on  the  latest  scientific 
principles.  In  some  I  have  seen  fish  doing  ap- 
parently well  and  in  others  I  have  seen  them 
dying  by  the  hundreds.  I  feel,  therefore,  that 
there  is  enough  doubt  to  make  it  inadvisable  to 
use  either  when  it  can  be  avoided.  There  are 
certain  soils  where  artificial  bottoms  must  be 


TEOUT  PONDS  101 

used  to  prevent  an  undue  quantity  of  water 
from  leeching  through  and  escaping;  and  my 
advice  is  to  cover  the  artificial  bottoms  in  such 
cases  with  at  least  six  inches  of  heavy  gravel. 

There  may  be  rare  instances,  where,  in  dig- 
ging ponds,  an  area  of  ooze-mud  of  considerable 
depth  is  encountered,  greater  than  can  be  re- 
moved. In  such  a  contingency,  dig  the  pond  a 
foot  or  two  deeper,  and  then  dump  in  many 
loads  of  coarse  gravel,  sufficient  to  make  an 
even  layer  at  least  a  foot  thick.  This  will  prob- 
ably settle  and  bind  in  a  few  days,  and  make 
a  fairly  firm  bottom.  This,  of  course,  need  not 
be  done  where  a  bottom  can  be  floored  with  con- 
crete or  boards. 

Indeed,  the  bottoms  of  all  ponds  should  be 
well  graveled,  but  care  must  be  exercised  that 
none  of  the  stones  are  larger,  say,  than  a  man's 
fist  or  projecting  much  above  the  ordinary  level. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  this,  first,  an  irreg- 
ular bottom  is  hard  to  draw,  and  second,  with 
large  projecting  stones  there  is  danger  that 
after  a  severe  thunderstorm  the  fish-culturist 
may  find  that  he  has  lost  a  large  number  of  his 
trout. 


102  FISH  CULTUEE 

rA  number  of  years  ago  the  Pennsylvania  Fish  Com- 
mission had  over  300  rainbow  and  brown  trout  killed 
in  its  ponds  in  Allentown  during  a  single  thunder- 
storm. At  no  time  did  the  lightning  strike  nearer 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ponds.  A  former 
manager  of  the  Penn  Forest  Brook  Trout  Company, 
a  commercial  establishment  near  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa., 
informed  me  that  during  a  severe  thunderstorm  more 
than  400  pounds  of  trout  were  killed  by  lightning. 
As  long  as  the  trout  are  swimming  free  in  the  water 
no  harm  to  them  will  result,  but  if  any  fish  happens 
to  be  on  the  bottom  touching  larger  stones,  and  light- 
ning should  strike  the  ground  anywhere  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  so,  the  fish  would  either  be 
stunned  or  killed.  The  true  trouts  are  more  liable 
to  injury  from  lightning  than  the  brook-trout,  because 
the  former  are  more  likely  to  rest  on  the  bottom. 

Size  and  Depth. — The  size  and  depth  of  tlie 
ponds  remain  to  be  considered.  These  factors 
must  depend  mainly  on  the  water-supply,  and 
upon  the  purposes  for  which  each  pond  is  in- 
tended. I  prefer  ponds  of  moderate  size,  and 
believe  for  mature  fish  the  deeper  they  are  the 
better,  so  long  as  they  are  not  too  deep  for 
handling.  Those  for  advanced  fry  and  finger- 
lings  should  be  shallower.  An  ideal  pond  for 
advanced  fry  might  be,  say,  25  feet  long,  about 


TEOUT  PONDS  103 

6  feet  wide,  and  of  a  depth  to  allow  from  18 
inches  to  two  feet  of  water.  A  pond  for  year- 
lings and  two-year-olds,  may  be  about  40  to  50 
feet  long,  14  wide,  and  about  three  feet  in  depth. 
One  for  older  fish  might  be  from  50  to  100  feet 
long,  from  15  to  20  feet  wide,  and  about  4  feet 
deep,  excepting  in  the  circumstances  stated 
later  in  this  chapter.  Where  it  is  not  desired 
to  rear  trout  beyond  the  age  of  two  years,  the 
largest  pond  mentioned  would  be  used  for  the 
oldest  fish,  and  the  second  size  for  fish  from  six 
or  eight  months  to  one  year  old.  Livingston 
Stone,  a  well-known  authority  on  trout-culture, 
advised  with  sound  sense  that  the  smaller  the 
water-supply  the  smaller  should  be  the  ponds. 
"If,"  says  he,  "your  water-supply  is  small  and 
liable  to  heat  up,  make  the  pond  narrow  and 
deep, — a  deep  ditch." 

Where  the  trout-breeding  establishment  is 
for  commercial  purposes  exclusively  it  is  well 
to  have  one  or  more  ponds  half  an  acre  or  so 
in  extent,  sloping  to  a  depth  of  eight  to  ten 
feet  at  the  lower  end.  Such  a  pond  will  hold  an 
almost  incredible  number  of  fish,  and  require 
less  attention  than  smaller  ponds. 


104  FISH  CULTUKE 

Raceways. — There  lias  been  a  tendency  in 
recent  years  for  fish-culturists  to  abandon  race- 
ways, owing  to  a  well  grounded  belief  that 
ponds  in  nests  or  groups  yield  better  results; 
but  wherever  ponds  are  built  separately  I  would 
advise  the  making  of  raceways,  even  if  they  be 
not  intended  for  the  use  of  spawning  fish,  be- 
cause thus  the  shallow,  rapidly  running  water 
becomes  well  aerated  before  entering  the  pond. 
Where  the  supply  of  water  is  not  scanty,  the 
raceway  might  be  from  three  to  five  feet  wide, 
not  less  than  20  feet  long,  and  with  a  depth  of 
from  six  to  eight  inches.  The  bottom  should  be 
thickly  covered  with  clean  coarse  gravel,  both 
for  aerating  purposes  and  to  attract  the  fish 
from  the  ponds  when  they  are  ripe  enough  to 
spawn.  The  sides  must  be  of  carefully  set 
boards,  concrete,  or  building-tile,  and  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  whole  raceway  can  be  covered 
from  end  to  end  in  order  to  exclude  the  light 
during  spawning  season.  At  the  upper  end  or 
entrance  there  must,  of  course,  be  a  screen  to 
prevent  the  fish  from  going  past  a  certain  point 
or  into  the  pond  above.  At  the  bottom  there 
should  be  a  gate,  kept  open  except  when  the 


INTAKE   FOR  A  TROUT  POND. 


A  DAM  AND  A  COVERED  RACEWAY. 


TKOUT  PONDS  105 

culturist  is  about  to  take  out  the  fish  which  have 
gathered  in  the  race  for  the  purpose  of  express- 
ing the  eggs  and  milt.  A  raceway  is  especially 
good  for  the  beginner  in  trout-culture,  because 
few  excepting  ripe  fish  enter  it  at  spawning 
time,  hence  he  does  not  need  to  handle  the  stock 
in  the  pond  so  frequently  in  order  to  secure 
those  fit  for  spawning. 

When  the  spawning  season  is  over  the  cover 
should  be  removed  from  the  raceway  and  put 
away  in  the  storage  house  until  wanted  again 
the  next  year,  so  that  the  raceway  can  have  the 
full  benefit  of  light  and  air  in  order  to  fulfil  one 
of  its  functions,  namely,  that  of  aeration. 

Implements  needed  at  a  Hatchery. — A  well 
equipped  trout-hatchery  will  possess  all  the 
usual  implements  for  digging,  hauling,  and  out- 
side labour,  including  long-handled  shovels, 
picks,  scoops,  wheelbarrows,  wagons  and  carts, 
a  roller,  mason's  implements,  carpenter's  tools, 
etc.  An  essential  implement  is  a  measuring- 
board,  in  order  to  get  ground-levels.  A  16-foot 
board,  planed,  trued,  and  provided  with  a  spirit- 
level,  will  be  found  a  fair  and  cheap  substitute 
for  regular  surveyor's  instruments.  Other 


106  FISH  CULTURE 

tools  and  implements  specially  needed  for 
hatchery  work  are  an  assortment  of  buckets, 
both  wooden  and  tin,  for  carrying  water,  fish, 
thick  milk,  chopped  meat,  and  so  forth;  also 
washtubs  for  carrying  large  fish  from  one  pond 
to  another,  for  holding  spawning  fish  when  first 
taken  from  the  raceways  or  ponds,  and  for 
many  other  purposes. 

I  have  found  that  the  ordinary  milk  can  with 
a  round  hole,  about  the  size  of  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar,  will  answer  as  well  for  shipping  fish  by 
railroad  as  any  specially  designed  shipping- 
can.  It  would  be  well,  however,  to  have 
the  bottom  changed  to  a  convex  form,  as  when 
the  bottom  is  concave  trout  are  apt  to  crowd 
into  the  centre,  sometimes  to  their  detriment. 
A  long  narrow  can,  similar  to  what  is  generally 
known  as  the  combination  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  pattern,  seems  to  be  better  than  one 
short  in  height  but  large  in  circumference.  It 
has  the  advantage  of  taking  up  less  room  in  a 
car,  which  fact  will  appeal  to  any  one  who  has 
many  fish  to  send  away  by  railroad.  Cans  con- 
taining twenty  and  thirty  quarts  each  are  the 
most  desirable  in  size.  For  transporting 


TKOUT  PONDS  107 

larger  fish  oval  cans  specially  made  are  the 
best. 

As  an  accompaniment  to  shipping-cans,  there 
must  be  a  device  which  messengers  can  use  for 
the  aeration  of  the  water  while  fish  are  being 
taken  on  the  railroad  journey.  The  national 
government  and  some  of  the  states  maintain 
fish-cars  with  complete  aerating  apparatus,  but 
this  is  not  feasible  for  a  commercial  establish- 
ment, and  some  other  means  of  aeration  must 
be  utilized,  the  best  of  which  is  a  tin  dip- 
per, with  a  bowl  shaped  like  that  of  a  milk 
dipper,  with  the  opening  covered  with  a  fine- 
mesh  wire  netting,  and  with  a  straight  han- 
dle. 

What  seems  to  be  the  best  hand-aerating  apparatus 
yet  devised  was  recently  invented  by  an  assistant  of 
Mr.  Lydell,  Superintendent  of  the  Mill  Creek  (Michi- 
gan) State  Hatchery.  It  consists  of  a  cylinder  of  tin 
with  removable  perforated  bottoms  of  different  sizes. 
A  valve  worked  by  the  finger  allows  the  apparatus 
to  be  pressed  to  the  bottom  of  the  can  where  the  valve 
is  released  and  the  cylinder  filled  with  dead  water. 
Another  pressure  of  the  finger  closes  the  valve,  the 
cylinder  is  lifted  into  the  air,  and  the  valve  once  more 
released,  allowing  the  water  to  fall  back  through  the 


108  FISH  CULTUEE 

perforations  in  the  bottom.  The  principle  is  good, 
since  it  allows  the  water  in  the  bottom,  which  is  in  the 
poorest  condition,  to  be  taken  out  and  aerated.  There 
is  no  patent  on  the  apparatus  and  all  who  will  may  use 
it.  Another  useful  device  is  a  tin  cylinder  about  two 
feet  long,  three  inches  in  diameter,  having  a  fixed 
handle  at  the  top  and  the  bottom  pointed  like  a  lead 
pencil.  The  pointed  end  is  thickly  perforated.  To 
aerate  with  this,  plunge  the  pointed  end  to  the  bot- 
tom, and  then  withdraw  it,  allowing  the  water  to  run 
back  into  the  can  through  the  perforations. 

Thermometers  are  among  the  useful  instru- 
ments needed,  although  messengers  and  men 
about  the  hatchery  should  be  taught  to  guess 
closely  the  water-temperature  by  feeling  with 
the  hand.  By  dint  of  practice  the  average 
hatchery-man  can  estimate  temperature  very 
nearly. 

A  meat-grinder,  for  grinding  liver  and  lungs 
for  fish-food,  is  indispensable.  It  must,  how- 
ever, have  a  number  of  discs  with  perforations 
of  varying  diameters  so  as  to  cut  meat  of  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  coarseness.  If  the  hatching 
establishment  is  of  considerable  size  it  will  be 
almost  necessary  to  operate  the  grinder  by 
power.  This  can  be  done  by  erecting  a  small 


TKOUT  PONDS  109 

building  over  the  stream  of  waste  water  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  property  and  setting  up  an 
undershot  waterwheel.  The  same  building 
could  also  be  utilised  as  an  icehouse  and  a  re- 
frigerator for  meat. 

In  connection  with  the  meat-grinder  there 
should  be  an  assortment  of  perforated  tins  for 
pressing  liver  through  them  to  make  a  paste 
of  requisite  thinness  for  advanced  fry.  A 
liver-pulverising  block  is  a  part  of  this  impor- 
tant contrivance.  The  block  is  made  of  wood, 
well  sand-papered,  just  large  enough  to  be  held 
comfortably  in  both  hands,  and  with  the  thick 
end  bevelled  so  as  easily  to  catch  and  crush 
liver  through  the  perforated  tin. 

Pudding  pans  of  tin  or  agate  ware  of  dif- 
ferent sizes,  for  holding  eggs  and  liquid  liver- 
paste  for  feeding  the  fry,  must  always  be  kept 
on  hand.  Also  a  soft-rubber  bulb  attached  to 
a  hard-rubber  tube,  for  picking  out  dead  eggs, 
and  for  feeding  fry  while  in  the  troughs. 

Some  fish-culturists  use  wooden  pickers  ex- 
clusively for  egg  work,  but  in  Pennsylvania  the 
superintendents  of  the  state  hatcheries  aban- 
doned them  years  ago  for  a  rubber  bulb,  which 


110  FISH  CULTURE 

they  believed  to  be  the  much  more  safely  and 
just  as  easily  manipulated.  Such  a  bulb  can  be 
procured  at  any  drug  store  by  asking  for  an 
infant  syringe,  and  a  little  practice  will  enable 
a  man  to  pick  up  eggs  with  great  rapidity  and 
skill. 

The  bulb  is  undoubtedly  far  superior  to  a 
spoon  or  feather  for  feeding  advanced  fry,  en- 
abling the  work  to  be  done  in  half  the  time  and 
more  thoroughly.  There  must  also  be  con- 
stantly about  the  place  a  bundle  of  turkey 
feathers  for  feathering  eggs  and  fry  in  the 
troughs,  besides  small  scap  nets,  fine-meshed 
seines,  long-handled  scoop-nets  and  other  nets 
necessary  for  handling  fish.  There  must  also 
be  a  liberal  supply  of  wire-mesh  for  egg-trays, 
which  is  tacked  on  wooden  frames  a  trifle  nar- 
rower than  the  interior  width  of  the  hatching 
trough.  It  is  also  necessary  to  keep  on  hand 
several  bags  of  salt,  and  bags  of  cement  for 
emergency  work.  Galvanised  wire-netting  of 
various  sizes  for  screens,  and  a  barrel  of  tar 
and  brushes  of  several  sizes  and  styles  should 
be  conveniently  at  hand. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CONSTRUCTION   OF   A   TROUT-HATCH- 
ERY 


appropriate  building  for  the  hatching  of 
eggs  is  necessary  unless  trout-propagation  is 
to  be  conducted  on  such  a  scale  as  to  be  scarcely 
worthy  the  name. 

Certain  conditions  must  be  observed  to  in- 
sure success  —  conditions  as  important  as  the 
location  of  the  ponds  or  the  character  of  the 
water.  First  and  foremost  the  building  must 
be  located  in  such  a  manner  that  water  can  flow 
through  the  supply-trough  so  as  to  give  a  good 
head  and  flow  freely  into  all  the  hatching 
troughs,  and  also  so  that  there  will  be  perfect 
drainage  from  the  hatchery  into  the  sewer  or 
the  ponds  outside.  It  must  not  be  so  far  away 
from  the  spring  as  to  allow  much  change  in 
the  temperature  of  the  water,  or  if  it  must  be 
very  far  from  the  source  of  supply  then  the 

111 


112  FISH  CULTUEE 

pipes  leading  to  it  should  be  so  built  or  pro- 
tected as  to  keep  as  nearly  uniform  a  tempera- 
ture as  possible.  The  size  of  the  house  is  of 
course  conditioned  upon  the  size  of  the  plant, 
the  character  of  the  troughs,  and  whether  it  is 
intended  to  carry  fish  beyond  the  fry  stage, 
and  well  into  the  advanced-fry  stage,  or  even 
through  it  to  the  fingerling  stage. 

If  the  hatching-house  is  to  be  for  a  club  that 
intends  to  propagate  only  sufficient  fish  to 
stock  its  holdings,  or  for  an  individual  who 
wishes  to  do  business  on  a  moderate  scale, 
chiefly  for  his  own  consumption,  a  building  20 
feet  long,  12  feet  wide,  7  feet  to  the  eaves,  and 
with  either  a  double-pitch  or  lean-to  roof  will 
answer  the  purpose.  Such  a  building  will  hold 
two  sets,  or  four  troughs,  each  14  feet  long,  and 
will  have  a  capacity  for  100,000  fry,  which  can 
be  held  in  the  building  through  the  advanced-fry 
stage,  and,  indeed,  until  summer.  It  will  also 
allow  sufficient  room  for  the  meat-grinding  ma- 
chine, a  table  on  which  to  pulverise  liver  and 
do  other  work,  and  a  stove,  besides  a  little  ad- 
ditional room  in  which  to  move  round. 

If  business  is  to  be  done  on  a  large  scale  and 


TEOUT-HATCHEEIES  113 

it  is  not  intended  to  hold  fish  much  beyond  the 
fry  stage,  in  other  words  to  get  rid  of  them  as 
soon  as  they  have  become  advanced  fry,  either 
by  planting,  sale,  or  depositing  in  outside  nurs- 
ery-ponds, then  the  smallest  house  which  can 
be  considered  will  be  50  feet  long,  by  20  feet 
wide,  using  the  same  type  of  trough  just  de- 
scribed. This  will  accommodate,  with  outside 
trough  attachments  or  nursery-ponds,  between 
2,000,000  and  3,000,000  fish  of  advanced-fry 
stage  and  the  smaller  sizes  of  fingerlings.  Yet 
a  house  of  this  size  is  small  for  the  work  named, 
and  entails  a  great  deal  of  disagreeable  outside 
work  in  February  and  March,  so  that  it  would 
be  better  if  larger,  so  as  to  avoid  having  any 
outside  troughs. 

Construction  of  a  Good  House. — To  my  mind 
the  ideal  hatching-house  for  trout,  taking  into 
consideration  compactness,  no  waste  room,  and 
a  minimum  amount  of  water,  is  one  which  is 
100  feet  long  and  40  feet  wide.  Such  a  house 
will  easily  provide  accommodations  for  3,000,- 
000  advanced  fry  and  fingerlings  to  No.  2  size. 
If  it  is  necessary,  and  the  fish-culturist  be  skilled! 
and  bold,  he  can  carry  5,000,000  of  advanced  fry 


114  FISH  CULTURE 

and  No.  1  fingerlings,  but  the  latter  not  very 
long,  and  such  a  number  would  mean  unremit- 
ting care,  and  attention  from  early  morning  un- 
til late  at  night.  Such  a  house  will  hold  60 
double  or  120  single  troughs  if  set  in  three  tiers, 
and  will  require  only  120  gallons  of  water.  To 
build  a  house  of  this  type  there  must  be  a  fall 
from  the  spring  or  stream  sufficient  to  permit 
of  there  being  about  five  feet  from  the  supply- 
trough  to  the  floor  of  the  house,  certainly  not 
less  than  four  feet.  It  can  be  built  of  frame, 
with  stone,  concrete,  or  building-tile  founda- 
tion, and  completely  equipped,  at  a  cost  of  from 
$1,600  to  $2,400,  depending  upon  the  price  of 
materials. 

A  gambrel  roof  will  be  found  cheaper  than  a 
double-pitch  roof,  and  probably  present  a  better  ap- 
pearance. The  side  walls  should  be  not  less  than  eight 
feet  from  the  top  of  the  foundation  walls  to  the  eaves, 
but  a  more  imposing  appearance  will  be  given  if  the 
walls  are  ten  or  twelve  feet  to  the  eaves.  There 
should  be  no  inside  pillars  or  posts,  as  they  would  be 
in  the  way  of  the  workmen,  consequently  the  roof 
must  be  supported  by  trusses.  Five  trusses  will  be 
sufficient  for  a  house  100  feet  long.  The  simplest  and 
cheapest  form  is  the  single  railroad  truss.  The  bot- 


TROUT-HATCHERIES  115 

torn  beams  of  the  truss,  which  of  course  are  40  feet 
long,  may  be  made  of  boards  six  inches  wide,  and  one 
inch  thick,  of  different  lengths,  spiked  together  so  that 
when  completed  there  will  be  a  solid  beam  40  feet 
long,  six  inches  wide  and  six  inches  thick.  This  will 
often  be  found  cheaper  than  a  solid  beam  of  that  size, 
and  just  as  effective.  The  top  beam  of  the  truss, 
which  is  of  course  very  much  shorter,  may  be  made 
of  the  same  material  if  desired.  The  stays,  however, 
should  be  of  solid  timber,  6  by  8,  with  two  heavy  iron 
stays  or  rods,  bolted  both  above  and  below.  The  stud- 
ding may  be  of  2-by-4  lumber,  but  for  the  other  tim- 
bers forming  the  skeleton  it  would  be  best  to  consult 
a  carpenter.  The  sides  may  be  of  what  is  called 
Dutch  siding.  I  have  found  no  urgent  necessity  for 
air  spaces  or  paper  or  inside  stripping. 

Spring  water,  when  run  into  a  hatching- 
honse,  being  warmer  in  the  winter  than  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere,  will  very  likely  throw  off 
a  heavy  mist,  which  will  make  work  in  the  hatch- 
ing house  disagreeable ;  but  the  mist  can  be  dis- 
sipated by  having  three  or  four  ventilators  in 
the  apex  of  the  roof.  I  would  not  advise  venti- 
lators the  entire  length  of  the  building,  since 
they  allow  snow  to  enter  and  keep  the  house  un- 
comfortably cold. 

The  house  should  be  liberally  provided  with 


116  FISH  CULTUEE 

broad  windows  so  that  the  building  can  be  well 
lighted  in  the  daytime;  but  these  should  have 
either  solid  inside  shutters  or  be  provided  with 
curtains,  so  that  the  interior  of  the  building  may 
be  darkened  when  desired.  Darkness,  or  rather 
gloom,  is  an  important  factor  in  the  successful 
hatching  of  eggs  and  rearing  of  fry.  It  is  well 
to  have  at  each  end  of  the  building  doors  wide 
enough  to  permit  even  bulky  objects  to  be  taken 
in  and  out.  Of  course  all  the  outside  lumber 
should  be  planed  so  that  the  building  can  be 
painted.  It  is  poor  economy  not  to  be  liberal 
with  paint,  to  say  nothing  of  an  unsightly  ap- 
pearance ;  and  thought  should  be  given  to  taste- 
ful colors,  avoiding  white. 

Arrangement  of  Troughs. — For  a  building  of 
this  size  the  troughs  had  better  be  set  in  three 
tiers  if  it  is  at  all  possible  to  do  so,  which  will 
permit  the  use  of  120  troughs  and  a  maximum 
of  120  gallons  of  water  per  minute.  If  this 
method  is  adopted  the  water  is  conducted  into 
the  building  at  the  upper  end  and  on  one  side 
of  the  house,  and  flowed  into  either  an  iron  sup- 
ply-pipe or  wooden  supply-trough  12  inches 
wide  and  14  inches  deep,  which  extends  the 


TKOUT-HATCHEEIES  117 

entire  length  of  the  one  side  of  the  house. 

By  three  tiers  of  troughs  is  meant  three  sets 
one  below  the  other,  with  tN  water  flowing  from 
the  supply-trough  into  the  upper  end  of  the  first 
set,  from  the  lower  end  of  the  first  set  into 
the  upper  end  of  the  second  set,  from  the  lower 
end  of  the  second  into  the  upper  end  of  the 
thirdj  and  from  the  lower  end  of  the  third  into 
the  sewer  or  drain.  By  this  method  the  water 
is  used  three  times  before  it  is  discharged 
from  the  house,  and  each  gallon  of  water  will 
be  equal  to  three  gallons.  In  setting  the  tiers 
or  sets,  the  upper  end  of  the  second  should  pro- 
ject a  couple  of  inches  under  the  lower  end  of 
the  first  and  the  upper  end  of  the  third  a  cou- 
ple of  inches  under  the  lower  end  of  the  sec- 
ond tier. 

It  would  also  be  well  to  set  the  second  tier 
only  about  two  inches  below  the  lower  end  of 
the  first  tier  and  to  set  the  third  tier  about  an 
inch  above  the  floor;  then  there  will  be  a  con- 
siderable fall  from  the  outlet  of  the  second  tier 
into  the  third  tier,  and  this  will  aerate  the  wa- 
ter. The  troughs  should  not  be  set  exactly  on 
a  level.  The  lower  end  ought  to  be  from  half 


118  FISH  CULTURE 

an  inch  to  an  inch  lower  than  the  upper  end; 
but  the  lower  end  of  the  supply-trough  should 
be  not  more  than  an  inch  below  the  upper  end 
or  intake. 

For  a  40-feet-wide  house  equipped  with  three 
tiers,  each  set  of  troughs  can  only  be  12  feet 
long ;  this  will  allow  a  four-foot  walk  the  whole 
length  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  house.  The 
troughs  are  made  in  pairs  and  of  lumber  one 
inch  thick  when  dressed,  33  inches  wide  outside 
measurement,  with  a  one-inch  division-board 
down  the  centre,  making  two  troughs  each  15 
inches  inside  measurement.  They  are  usually 
eight  inches  deep,  but  may  be  10  inches  to  ad- 
vantage. 

At  the  lower  end  of  each  trough,  if  two  or 
more  tiers  are  used,  there  must  be  bored  two 
holes,  one  in  the  centre  and  one  at  the  side, 
each  not  less  than  one  inch  in  diameter.  One 
is  to  carry  the  water  from  one  trough  to  the 
other;  and  the  other  to  be  used  only  when  the 
trough  is  being  cleaned,  at  all  other  times  being 
kept  plugged.  Six  inches  from  the  end,  and 
above  the  hole,  two  cleats  are  set  on  each  side, 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  apart,  and  two  others 


TBOUT-HATCHEKIES  119 

nailed  across  the  bottom.  In  this  is  set  a  wire 
screen,  14  or  16  inesh  to  the  inch,  to  keep  small 
fish  from  passing  through.  Two  inches  below 
is  fastened  another  set  of  cleats  in  which  are 
placed  pieces  of  wood,  two  inches  wide,  each  to 
form  a  dam,  and  when  in  use  to  tighten  it. 
The  bottom  and  sides  should  be  filled  with  stiff 
clay. 

The  water  is  carried  from  the  supply-trough 
into  the  hatching-troughs  by  means  of  faucets, 
and  a  wooden  spigot  is  not  dependable.  One 
of  the  various  makes  of  cast-iron  molasses- 
faucets  should  be  selected  and  the  most  costly 
is  the  best.  It  is  well  to  be  particular  about 
this,  because  while  the  idea  is  generally  ex- 
ploded that  any  more  than  a  certain  quantity 
of  water  will  burst  the  egg  or  the  sac  of  the 
fry,  it  is  essential  for  many  other  reasons  to 
be  able  to  regulate  the  flow  accurately  and 
without  danger  of  something  happening  to 
change  the  amount  which  has  been  set. 

Before  being  used,  the  inside  of  all  the 
troughs  should  be  given  a  heavy  coat  of  tar,  in 
which  a  little  litharge  should  be  mixed  to  has- 
ten the  drying;  and  the  outside  should  be 


120  FISH  CULTUBE 

painted.  I  have  heard  fish-culturists  complain 
that  tar  is  injurious  and  that  it  had  killed  their 
fish;  but  I  am  satisfied  from  my  own  experi- 
ence, as  well  as  that  of  most  fish-culturists,  that 
this  is  a  mistake;  indeed  tar  may  be  esteemed 
beneficial,  since  it  is  a  germ  destroyer.  Black 
asphaltum  paint,  however,  may  be  safely  used, 
if  tar  is  not  easily  available. 

Surprise  may  be  expressed  by  some  persons 
that  I  have  not  advocated  the  use  of  heavier 
lumber  than  one  inch  for  the  construction  of 
hatching-troughs  of  the  type  described.  It 
has  not  been  many  years  since  it  was  claimed 
to  be  unsafe  to  use  lumber  less  than  two  inches 
thick  on  account  of  jarring,  but  I  have  found 
no  ill  results  following  the  use  of  one-inch  lum- 
ber, and  I  have  superintended  the  hatching  and 
distributing  annually  of  from  7,000,000  to 
13,000,000  trout;  furthermore  the  average  hatch 
from  the  eggs  taken  from  the  brood-fish  in  the 
hatcheries  has  been  regularly  over  90  per  cent. 

The  ends  of  the  trough  may  be  flush,  there 
being  no  necessity  for  dovetailing.  The 
troughs  can  be  made  perfectly  water-tight  by 
making  a  scratch  the  whole  length  of  the  bot- 


TROUT-HATCHERIES  121 

torn  board,  stretching  a  piece  of  string  dipped 
in  white  lead  along  it,  and  then  nailing  on  the 
sides.  Dovetailing  is  unnecessary  and  expen- 
sive. 

The  stands  on  which  the  troughs  are  set 
should  be  of  heavy  lumber  not  easily  moved, 
and  of  the  best  quality,  either  white  pine  or 
cypress,  rejecting  any  lumber  where  knots  com- 
pletely penetrate  the  board,  for  it  will  leak. 

The  floor  of  the  hatching-house  should  be  of 
concrete,  and  a  ditch  be  made  the  whole  length 
of  the  house,  between  the  walk  and  lower  end 
of  the  third  tier  of  troughs,  to  carry  the  water 
into  a  sewer  or  a  pipe  conducting  it  to  outside 
ponds.  There  should  also  be  a  slope  of  about 
an  inch  from  the  foundation  wall  on  which  the 
supply-trough  rests  to  the  ditch,  and  there 
should  also  be  a  slight  concavity  under  each 
set  of  troughs  for  drainage  to  the  ditch. 

If  the  business  is  to  be  conducted  on  a  huge  scale, 
and  a  vast  number  of  eggs  are  to  be  sold,  then,  be- 
sides the  troughs  described,  it  would  be  well  to  have 
an  egg-hatching  trough  of  the  Clark,  Clark- William- 
son, or  some  similar  pattern.  The  United  States 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  gives  this  description  of  the 


122  FISH  CULTUEE 

Clark  hatching  box: —  "A  tank  15  feet  long  with 
a  partition  running  its  entire  length  and  so  placed 
that  its  lower  end  rests  upon  the  upper  end  of  a 
similar  one  13  feet  long,  which  differs  from  the  upper 
one  only  in  that  it  contains  two  boxes  less.  Nine  par- 
titions placed  crosswise  of  the  tank  form,  with  the 
lengthwise  partitions,  a  double  row  of  compartments, 
each  of  which  is  19£  inches  long,  and  15J  inches  wide, 
and  is  provided  with  a  waste-water  channel  or  sluice- 
way leading  into  the  next  compartment.  In  these 
compartments  are  placed  the  hatching  boxes." 

The  Clark  box  is  18  inches  long,  14  inches  wide, 
and  9J  inches  deep,  and  is  made  from  three-quarter- 
inch  dressed  white-pine  lumber.  On  its  under  side 
the  box  is  provided  with  short  feet  to  allow  a  free 
circulation  of  water  under  it  and  to  prevent  it  from 
resting  on  any  sediment  or  refuse  that  may  be  de- 
posited on  the  bottom  of  the  tank;  and  on  the  inside 
of  each  bottom  corner  is  fastened  a  thin  block  to  sup- 
port the  trays.  Five  small  auger-holes  permit  the 
escape  of  water  from  the  box.  A  slot  is  cut  in  one 
end  of  the  box,  so  that  the  water  from  the  compart- 
ment above  cannot  flow  into  the  one  below  without 
falling  into  and  passing  through  this  box.  Upon  the 
feet  or  risers  inside  the  box  rest  nine  trays,  made  of 
perforated  zinc,  or  fine  wire  netting,  tacked  upon  a 
pine  frame  16  inches  long,  and  12  inches  wide.  The 
trays  are  placed  one  upon  the  other,  in  the  box,  the 


TEOUT-HATCHEEIES  123 

end  of  which  contains  the  slot  fitting  snugly  against 
the  upper  end  of  the  compartment  in  which  is  fitted 
a  tin  over-flow.  The  whole  is  held  in  place  by  a 
cross-bar  or  binder,  which  fits  in  grooves  cut  in  both 
sides  of  the  tank.  The  binder,  which  rests  upon  the 
box,  keeps  it  from  rising  in  the  water,  and  is  provided 
with  feet  so  placed  as  to  prevent  the  trays  from  float- 
ing in  the  box  itself.  Each  tray  is  capable  of  holding 
5,000  brook-trout  eggs,  the  ninth  or  top  tray  being 
used  only  as  a  cover.  There  are  several  other  types 
of  purely  egg-hatching  troughs  or  boxes,  the  general 
principle  of  all  being  a  series  of  dams,  the  water  flow- 
ing alternately  over  and  under.  These  troughs,  how- 
ever, are  for  hatching  or  eyeing  eggs  only,  and  are 
not  suitable  for  carrying  fry  or  advanced  fry. 

Suggestions. — If  the  water-supply  is  from  a 
deep  spring,  there  will  be  no  need  for  a  stove 
or  heating  apparatus  in  the  hatching-house,  ex- 
cept to  permit  the  men  to  warm  their  hands 
after  having  them  in  the  cold  water  for  some 
time,  as  the  spring  water,  averaging  say  from 
45  to  50  degrees  of  warmth,  will  keep  the  house 
fairly  comfortable.  If  the  water  is  creek  water 
then  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  a  heating  ap- 
paratus to  give  some  warmth  to  the  building; 


124  FISH  CTTLTUEE 

but  it  is  not  well  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the 
house  very  high,  because  it  has  a  tendency 
to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  water. 

It  will  also  be  well  to  have  a  small  building 
with  plenty  of  shelving  attached  to  the  hatch- 
ing-house as  a  sort  of  workshop  and  a  place  in 
which  to  keep  the  smaller  implements  and  in 
which  to  make  the  liver  paste.  The  wisdom  of 
such  a  building  will  be  apparent  at  once  to  any 
one  who  has  had  anything  to  do  with  rearing 
fish,  or  remembers  how  things  will  accumulate 
and  get  in  the  way  of  the  workmen,  or  become 
lost,  when  there  is  no  set  place  for  them. 

Absolute  cleanliness  in  the  hatching-house  is 
very  necessary.  Carelessness  in  this  respect 
may  cause  trouble  and  loss  of  fish.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  impurities  in  the  water  are  as 
fatal  to  trout  as  filth  is  to  human  beings. 

It  may  in  some  cases  be  impracticable  or 
not  desirable  to  set  the  troughs  in  two  or  more 
tiers,  in  which  case  the  hatching-house  may  be 
32  feet  wide  with  two  sets  of  supply  troughs, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  house,  each  trough  being 
14  feet  long;  or  a  house  may  be  20  feet  wide, 
with  one  set  of  troughs  each  16  feet  long.  The 


TEOUT-HATCHEEIES  125 

walk  ought  to  be  four  feet  wide,  and  the  width 
of  the  house  and  the  length  of  the  trough  be 
made  to  conform  thereto;  but  as  lumber  is  cut 
in  lengths  of  8,  10,  12,  14  and  16  feet,  one  of 
these  should  be  adopted  to  save  waste. 


CHAPTEE  IX 

TAKING  AND  FEBTILISING  TBOUT 
EGGS 

As,  according  to  an  old  saw,  "all  roads  lead 
to  Borne,"  so  in  trout-culture  all  efforts  are  di- 
rected towards  taking,  fertilising,  and  hatching 
trout  eggs.  The  fish  begin  to  ripen  in  au- 
tumn, sometimes  as  early  as  the  first  of  Oc- 
tober, but  often  not  until  well  in  November, 
depending  on  water  temperature  and  condi- 
tions. Weeks  beforehand,  both  males  and  fe- 
males show  signs  of  restlessness.  The  under 
jaw  of  the  male  lengthens  and  becomes  almost 
a  hook  at  the  tip,  and  he  exhibits  signs  of  pug- 
nacity, which  become  more  pronounced  day  by 
day.  Fights  of  great  ferocity  are  frequent,  and 
fatal  wounds  are  given  and  received,  for  the 
hook  at  the  extremity  of  the  lower  jaw,  has  be- 
come an  ugly  weapon  of  offence.  All  battles 
are  for  the  possession  of  females,  and  it  some- 
times happens  that  the  latter,  getting  in  the 

126 


FEETILISING  TBOTJT  EGGS       127 

way,  are  fatally  hurt.  There  are  also  other 
signs  of  the  approaching  spawning.  Here  and 
there  fish  will  be  seen  clearing  nests  in  the 
gravel,  and  females  with  swelling  sides  move 
more  slowly  and  heavily  through  the  water. 

Spawning  Habits  of  Trout. — From  this  pe- 
riod on  the  days  of  the  fish-culturist  are  full  of 
watchfulness  and  anxiety.  He  must  use  his 
nets  frequently  to  make  tests  to  discover  ripe- 
ness. This  is  done  by  taking  the  fish  as  though 
for  stripping,  and  gently  pressing  the  finger 
along  the  abdomen.  If  the  eggs  flow  freely 
from  the  vent,  the  fish  are  ripe. 

When  ponds  are  provided  with  a  raceway  the 
work  is  simpler,  because  few  excepting  the 
nearly  ripe  males  and  females  enter  it,  and  it  is 
then  only  necessary  to  close  the  entrance  and 
examine  the  fish  which  may  be  there.  Eace- 
ways  attached  to  ponds  should  be  covered 
with  boards  a  couple  of  weeks  before  the  spawn- 
ing time,  as  darkness  has  a  great  attraction  for 
gravid  fish. 

Eipeness  is  usually  found  first  among  fish  of 
three  years  and  older;  the  younger,  or  first 
spawners,  not  " coming  in"  until  later  in  the 


128  FISH  CULTUBE 

season.  A  few  days  after  the  first  ripe  fisH 
have  been  found,  numbers  of  others  will  be 
ready,  and  after  that  egg-taking  proceeds  daily, 
with  growing  rapidity,  until  the  height  of  the 
season  is  reached.  It  is  not  expedient  to  draw 
all  the  ponds  every  day,  partly  because  the  num- 
ber of  the  spawners  found  would  scarcely  pay 
for  the  trouble,  but  chiefly  because  frequent 
handling  is  not  good  for  the  fish.  Yet  many 
days  must  not  pass  without  every  pond  having 
been  overhauled,  or  eggs  will  be  lost. 

Handling  Ripe  Fish. — The  act  of  spawning, 
as  well  as  the  period  immediately  preceding  and 
following  it,  is  always  a  drain  on  the  vitality 
of  fish,  and  some  are  certain  to  die.  Handling 
and  artificial  extruding  are  still  harder  ordeals, 
under  which  further  loss  may  be  expected; 
hence  great  care  must  be  exercised  not  to  bruise 
nor  roughly  treat  the  fish  while  they  are 
sorted  and  stripped.  Some  men  use  wet  gloves 
made  of  canvas  or  other  material  during  this 
process,  in  order  that  the  trout  may  not  slip 
from  their  hands;  but  this  practice  cannot  be 
condemned  too  strongly.  The  glove  is  a  death- 
dealing  apparatus.  Neither  ought  a  fish  to  be 


FEKTILISINQ  TEOUT  EGGS       129 

handled  with  dry  hands,  as  fungus  is  certain 
to  develop  where  the  trout  has  been  grasped. 

When  sorting  his  fish,  three  tubs  are  needed, 
a  small-mesh  seine,  a  long-handled  scoop-net 
and  a  bucket.  All  the  trout  in  the  pond  are 
drawn  to  one  spot,  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
tubs,  in  each  of  which  has  been  thrown  a  bucket- 
ful of  water.  Then  a  number  of  the  fish  are 
dipped  out,  transferred  to  one  of  the  tubs,  and 
the  sorting  begins.  The  ripe  females  are  gently 
deposited  in  one  tub,  the  ripe  males  in  another, 
and  the  hard  fish  back  in  the  pond. 

After  the  sorting  is  completed,  the  fish  are 
carried  into  the  hatching-house  and  placed  in 
tanks  or  hatching-troughs.  The  latter  is  prefer- 
able, as  it  saves  one  handling.  The  strippers, 
with  the  spawning-pan  in  front  of  them  on  a 
box  only  a  foot  high,  are  seated  while  work- 
ing, so  that  if,  by  mischance,  which  is  not  infre- 
quent, a  trout  slips  from  the  hands  and  falls  to 
the  floor,  it  is  not  likely  to  meet  with  serious 
injury.  This  plan,  to  my  mind,  is  infinitely  bet- 
ter than  the  practice  of  standing  at  a  bench  or 
barrel,  as  some  fish-culturists  do,  for  then  the 
accidental  dropping  of  a  trout  is  almost  certain 


130  FISH  CULTUEE 

to  result  in  its  death.  After  observing  many 
methods  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  best  is  to 
use  one  of  the  double  hatching-troughs,  so  that 
if  a  fish  slips,  it  will  fall,  not  on  the  floor,  but 
into  the  water. 

Choosing,  then,  one  of  the  hatching-troughs 
for  spawning  purposes,  the  females  are  placed 
in  one  section  and  the  males  in  another,  the 
dams  in  each  section  having  been  previously  so 
set  that  there  is  about  six  inches  depth  of  water. 
A  hatching-screen  is  set  endwise  in  each  section 
and  fastened  about  two  feet  from  the  lower  part, 
so  as  to  confine  two  or  three  dozen  fish  in  that 
space.  A  spawning-pan  is  made  ready  and  set 
on  a  board  midway  on  the  trough.  If  there  are 
a  very  great  number,  one  man  is  assigned  to 
handle  the  females ;  a  second,  the  males ;  and  a 
third  to  care  for  and  dispose  of  the  fish  after 
they  have  been  stripped. 

Before  being  placed  on  the  board  between  the 
strippers,  the  spawning-pan  is  submerged  for  a 
moment  or  two  in  water,  then  allowed  to  drain 
off  until  only  a  few  drops  remain  on  the  sides 
and  bottom.  This  act  seems  trifling,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  important.  If  the  eggs  were 


FEETILISING  TROUT  EGGS       131 

stripped  into  a  dry  pan  many  of  them  would 
stick  to  the  sides  and  bottom,  and  most  of  those 
which  so  adhered  would  in  a  little  while  become 
affected  by  fungus  and  die.  The  remainder 
would  not  become  fertilised  and  consequently 
would  not  hatch.  The  moist  pan  prevents  ad- 
hesion. 

Artificial  Fertilisation. — All  the  preliminaries 
having  been  completed  the  men  are  now  ready 
to  "take"  and  impregnate  eggs.  The  ovaries 
of  the  brook-trout  are  two  membranous  sacs 
lying  along  each  side  of  the  backbone  of  the  fe- 
male, in  which  the  eggs  are  developed,  growing 
larger  until  early  in  the  fall,  when,  shortly  be- 
fore being  voided,  they  attain  their  full  size 
previous  to  being  fertilised,  and  can  be  ex- 
pressed easily  from  the  fish  by  a  slight  pressure 
of  the  fingers  on  its  belly.  On  both  sides  of  the 
backbone  of  the  males  are  the  testes,  in  which 
are  formed  spermatozoa,  or  fertilising  ele- 
ments. They  are  pendant-shaped,  with  the 
points  towards  the  vent.  As  the  spawning  time 
grows  near,  the  pointed  ends  become  soft,  and 
there  exudes  a  milky  liquid  called  "milt,"  bear- 
ing thousands  of  spermatozoa.  This  milt  may 


132  FISH  CULTUEE 

easily  be  expelled  by  means  of  a  gentle  pres- 
sure of  the  thumb  or  finger  above  the  vent. 
When  the  female  and  the  male  are  in  this  con- 
dition they  are  called  ripe,  and  the  mingling  of 
the  milt  and  spawn  fertilises  the  eggs.  Fish- 
culturists  generally  now  accomplish  this  end  by 
the  Eussian  or  "dry"  method  discovered  by 
Vrasski  and  announced  about  1871.  Instead  of 
fertilising  the  eggs  in  water,  as  taught  by 
Gehin  and  Eemy,  they  are  pressed  from  the  fish 
into  a  moistened  pan  and  fertilised  before  any 
water  is  poured  on  them. 

A  careful  man  will  not  take  fish  from  the 
water  by  any  abrupt  or  rapid  movement  likely 
to  frighten  them.  Having  first  thoroughly  wet 
his  hands  he  will  gently  seize  a  fish  by  the  head 
with  the  left  hand,  and  with  the  right  hold  it 
firmly  by  the  tail,  not  bruising  it,  until  all  strug- 
gling ceases.  It  will  become  quiet  in  a  minute 
or  two.  In  grasping  the  fish,  the  man's  left 
hand  should  be  over  its  head  with  the  thumb 
towards  his  body ;  the  right  hand  should  grasp 
the  fish  from  the  underside,  with  the  thumb 
above  and  pointing  away  from  his  body.  As 
soon  as  struggling  ceases  the  fish  is  held  over 


FEBTILISING  TEOUT  EGGS       133 

the  pan  so  that  the  vent  will  be  as  close  to  the 
bottom  as  possible  while  the  eggs  or  milt  are 
being  taken. 

There  are  two  methods  of  taking  eggs,  one 
known  as  the  two-finger,  or  thnmb-and-finger 
method,  and  the  other  the  one-finger  method. 
In  the  former  a  man  gives  a  slight  pressure 
with  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  right  hand 
along  each  side  of  the  belly,  from  below  the 
head  towards  the  vent.  In  the  one-finger 
method — probably  the  better — the  thumb  is 
gently  pressed  along  the  bottom  of  the  belly 
towards  the  vent  and  the  forefinger  aids  only 
in  the  final  stripping  of  the  last  few  eggs.  By 
either  method  the  eggs  are  easily  expressed  and 
flow  in  a  steady  stream  into  the  pan.  The  ad- 
vocates of  the  one-finger  method  hold  that  there 
is  less  liability  of  injury  to  the  fish  than  by  the 
two-finger  method.  Probably  they  are  right. 

Some  men  believe  in  stripping  every  egg  from 
the  female ;  others  that  it  is  best  to  allow  a  few 
to  remain.  The  former  hold  that  it  is  better 
for  the  fish,  as  there  is  a  liability  that  the  eggs 
which  remain  will  not  be  voided  naturally  by 
the  female  afterwards,  but  that  they  will  harden 


134  FISH  CULTUBE 

and  perhaps  kill  her.  They  also  claim  that  de- 
spite all  care  an  occasional  male  will  be  thrown 
into  the  tub  containing  the  stripped  females, 
and  after  being  placed  in  the  ponds  there  will 
inevitably  be  a  fight  with  possible  fatalities. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  weight  of  the 
argument  is  in  favour  of  clean  stripping. 

As  soon  as  the  eggs  have  been  taken  from 
the  female  the  milt  is  expressed  from  the  male 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  eggs  from  the  female. 
The  eggs  and  milt  are  then  thoroughly  mixed. 
Some  fish-culturists  stir  the  two  together  with 
a  feather,  but  my  experience  is  that  no  imple- 
ment for  this  purpose  excels  the  tail  of  the  male, 
the  operator  still  holding  the  fish  and  stirring 
with  it. 

The  eggs,  when  first  extracted,  are  about  one- 
third  smaller  than  they  become  after  they  have 
been  fertilised.  A  fish's  egg,  like  an  orange,  is 
slightly  flattened,  and  in  the  top  there  is  a 
minute  hole  called  a  micropyle,  surrounded  by 
a  glutinous  substance.  Fertilisation  is  accom- 
plished by  an  atom  of  milt  (a  spermatozoon) 
passing  through  the  hole  into  the  interior.  It 
is  a  marvellous  provision  of  nature  that  the 


FERTILISING  TROUT  EGGS       135 

atoms  of  milt  almost  unerringly  find  this  minute 
opening.  Even  where  the  eggs  and  milt  are 
naturally  deposited  in  a  stream,  and  where  there 
is  originally  a  distance  of  many  inches,  they; 
reach  the  proper  point  for  fertilisation  of  the 
ovum. 

It  is  also  an  exceedingly  curious  fact  that  the 
milt  cannot  retain  its  properties  in  water  for 
more  than  a  few  minutes,  generally  less  than 
three.  It  is  this  fact  which  made  the  discovery 
of  Vrasski's  "dry  method "  of  fertilising  eggs, 
of  such  great  value  to  fish-culture. 

The  operator  squeezes  females  and  males  al- 
ternately until  he  has  a  sufficient  number  of 
fertilised  eggs  in  the  pan.  It  then  becomes 
necessary  to  wash  them,  in  order  to  remove 
surplus  milt  and  any  dirt  or  blood  which  might 
have  been  pressed  from  the  fish.  This  should 
be  done  after  a  lapse  of  from  three  to  five 
minutes.  The  eggs  are  then  covered  with  clean 
water  and  allowed  to  stand  not  less  than  15  or 
20  minutes,  so  that  they  soak  in  water  and  attain 
the  proper  size  of  fertilised  ova.  After  being 
covered  with  water  the  eggs  soon  adhere  to  each 
other  and  to  the  bottom  of  the  pan.  It  is  very. 


136  FISH  CULTURE 

necessary  that  the  eggs  be  now  left  absolutely 
quiet,  as  any  disturbance  during  the  process 
of  water-soaking,  sufficient  to  cause  them  to 
break  apart,  would  almost  inevitably  cause  the 
loss  of  nearly  if  not  all  the  eggs  in  the  pan. 
Little  by  little  the  eggs  swell  until  the  micropyle 
becomes  closed  and  is  hermetically  sealed  by  the 
glutinous  substance  which  surrounded  it,  and  it 
remains  so  sealed  throughout  the  entire  period 
of  incubation.  At  the  end  of  from  15  to  30 
minutes  adhesion  ceases,  the  enlarged  eggs  sep- 
arate and  are  now  ready  to  be  placed  on  trays 
for  hatching. 

The  ordinary  method  is  to  pour  the  eggs  from 
several  spawning-pans  into  a  dish-pan,  pre- 
viously filled  with  clean  cold  water,  until  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  has  been  taken  to  fill  one  or 
more  trays.  From  the  dish-pan  the  eggs  are 
poured  into  a  graduated  glass  so  that  the  exact 
number  of  eggs  may  be  ascertained,  and  then 
are  poured  gently  on  to  trays  until  the  latter, 
according  to  size,  contain  from  10,000  to  25,000 
eggs.  The  eggs  are  then  carefully  spread  two 
deep,  by  means  of  a  feather,  although  there  are 
circumstances  in  which  they  may  be  placed, 


FERTILISING  TROUT  EGGS        137 

for  eyeing  purposes^  four  or  five  deep,  or  even 
to  the  rim  of  the  trays.  The  safety  of  doing 
this  depends  on  the  character  of  the  troughs 
and  the  circulation  of  the  water,  for  which  no 
specific  instruction  or  rule  can  be  laid  down. 
The  knowledge  thereof  can  only  be  acquired  by 
experience. 

After  the  fish  have  been  stripped  they  are 
placed  in  buckets,  males  in  one,  females  in  an- 
other, given  a  mild  salt  bath  as  a  preventive 
against  possible  infection  by  fungus,  and  put 
back  into  their  pond. 


CHAPTER  X 

HATCHING  TEOUT  AND  CAEE  OF  THE 
FEY 

THEKE  are  differences  of  opinion  as  to  how 
much  water  should  be  sent  through  the  troughs 
containing  trout-eggs.  Some  fish-culturists  be- 
lieve that  if  a  certain  quantity  be  exceeded,  it 
will  result  in  what  is  call  "bursted"  eggs,  or  the 
destruction  of  the  germ  and  also  of  the  sac  at- 
tached to  the  young  fish;  but  I  can  find  no 
evidence  that  mere  volume  can  produce  such 
disastrous  results.  I  have  seen  water  pouring 
forcibly  from,  two  one-inch  pipes  into  a  trough 
containing  eggs ;  and  in  the  same  house  a  similar 
supply  in  a  trough  containing  fry,  yet  without 
the  slightest  injury  to  either. 

The  fish-culturist  must  determine  for  himself 
how  much  water  he  may  safely  use  without 
danger.  It  may  be  said  as  a  general  rule,  that 
the  more  air  there  is  in  the  water  the  smaller 
the  flow  required,  and  as  there  is  usually  more 

138 


HATCHING  TROUT  139 

air  in  hard  water  than  in  soft,  ordinarily  a 
greater  volume  of  the  latter  may  be  turned  on 
than  of  the  former.  But  this  cannot  be  taken  as 
a  hard  and  fast  rule.  I  know  of  a  case  where 
three  gallons  of  hard  water  per  minute  can  be 
flowed  over  the  eggs  and  fry  without  harm  to 
either ;  in  a  second  case,  also  having  hard  water, 
two  gallons  is  about  the  limit.  In  a  third  hatch- 
ery, where  the  water  is  soft,  three  gallons  can 
be  used  without  disturbing  the  eggs,  and  in  an- 
other, of  similar  water,  two  gallons  is  ample. 
It  is  important  for  a  fish-culturist,  no  matter 
how  long  he  may  have  been  in  the  business,  to 
study  thoroughly  all  about  the  water  he  uses 
in  his  plant,  and  also  not  to  get  it  into  his  head 
that  because  he  has  been  successful  in  rearing 
fish  at  one  place,  he  must  necessarily  at  once 
have  the  same  good  fortune  on  another 
property. 

Placing  Trays. — The  trays  on  which  the  eggs 
are  placed  should  be  submerged  very  close  to 
the  bottom  of  the  trough,  or  in  such  a  position 
as  to  provide  the  greatest  amount  of  current 
or  aeration  consistent  with  not  moving  the  eggs. 
As  the  trays  are  slightly  narrower  than  the 


140  FISH  CULTURE 

troughs  they  must  be  held  in  place  by  some 
means.  To  do  this  several  methods  are  em- 
ployed. One  quite  common  is  a  V-shaped 
wedge  of  wood,  inserted  between  the  troughs 
and  one  side  of  the  tray.  Another  is  to  make 
the  trays  of  material  so  light  that  the  weight 
of  the  eggs  will  keep  them  submerged;  when 
this  latter  method  is  used  it  is  necessary  to 
fasten  at  the  under  corners  screw-eyes,  or 
blocks  of  wood,  to  keep  the  trays  from  settling 
entirely  on  the  bottom,  and  thus  run  the  risk 
of  being  covered  with  sediment  and  injured. 
Trays  are  sometimes  weighted  enough  to  keep 
them  down,  or  are  slipped  beneath  cleats  on 
each  side  of  the  trough  so  as  to  slide  in  and 
out  after  the  manner  of  drawers  in  a  desk. 
This  is  perhaps  the  best  way. 

Care  of  the  Eggs. — There  is  always  a  quantity 
of  unfertilised  eggs  in  every  lot  taken.  Some 
of  them  are  frequently  detected  as  soon  as  the 
washing  is  finished.  They  are  marble  white, 
opaque,  and  sometimes  show  the  micropyle  in 
the  form  of  a  yellowish  spot.  Within  48  hours 
after  the  eggs  have  been  placed  upon  the  trays 
others  which  were  not  fertilised  begin  to  show 


HATCHING  TEOUT  141 

themselves,  and  must  be  removed.  One  not- 
able and  interesting  form  of  unfertilised  egg 
is  the  " ringer."  Eingers  seldom  appear  until 
from  15  to  20  days  after  they  have  been  on  the 
trays,  and  as  they  become  opaque  very  slowly 
they  may  be  found  throughout  the  entire  hatch- 
ing. A  ringer  does  not  at  first  appear  as 
a  bad  egg,  and  will  deceive  any  but  a  practical 
fish-culturist  into  thinking  that  it  is  fertilised. 
It  is  translucent,  like  a  good  egg,  but  when  held 
to  the  light  nearly  a  perfect  circle  is  discerned 
within  the  shell. 

Another  failure  in  fertilisation  which  some- 
times deceives  an  inexperienced  person  is  what 
may  be  called  a  "false"  egg.  The  false  egg  is 
rather  more  translucent  than  a  good  egg;  but 
when  held  to  the  light,  its  worthlessness  is  easily 
detected,  for  it  is  seen  to  be  simply  a  ball  of 
watery  albuminous  material.  Eingers  are 
found  in  eggs  from  mature  fish  of  all  ages,  but 
false  eggs  are  seldom  taken  from  fish  less  than 
three  years  old. 

What  causes  ringers  and  false  eggs  is  a  question 
that  most  fish-culturists  would  like  answered.  Why 
one  unfertilised  egg  should  become  opaque  within  fif- 


142  FISH  CULTURE 

teen  minutes  or  forty-eight  hours;  why  a  ringer  may 
remain  translucent  until  after  good  eggs  are  hatched ; 
why  false  eggs  may  remain  superficially  as  clean  and 
translucent  as  good  eggs  for  three  or  four  weeks,  are 
enigmas  as  bewildering  as  anything  the  Sphinx  could 
propound.  Although  it  is  claimed  that  ringers  are 
more  abundant  among  fish  which  have  been  over-fed, 
I  have  never  heard  any  one  offer  a  solution  for  the 
appearance  of  them  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  even 
plausible.  I  have  heard  only  one  explanation  of  the 
cause  of  a  false  egg  which  seemed  at  all  enlightening. 
As  a  false  egg  is  seldom  found  in  fish  younger  than 
three  years,  it  has  been  suggested  that  they  are  eggs 
which  have  been  soaked  prematurely  in  the  ovaries 
when,  as  it  sometimes  happens,  the  female  took  water. 
On  several  occasions  I  have  found  ripe  four-year-old 
females  in  July.  I  stripped  them  and  found  them  all 
carrying  water,  and  the  eggs  were  as  thoroughly 
soaked  as  they  would  have  been  after  impregnation 
and  washing.  These  experiences  indicate  the  plausi- 
bility of  the  theory  that  a  false  egg  is  caused  by  being 
soaked  while  in  the  ovaries.  It  is  claimed  also,  by 
some  men,  that  a  water-soaked  egg  is  often  carried  by 
the  female  over  the  year,  or  until  the  next  spawning. 

Dead  Eggs. — It  is  of  course  necessary  that 
all  dead  eggs  be  removed  from  the  trays  before 
they  develop  fungus;  hence,  picking  should  be- 
gin not  later  than  the  day  after  the  laden  trays 


HATCHING  TEOUT  143 

have  been  submerged  in  the  troughs.  Daily 
picking  is  desirable,  but  not  always  imperative. 
The  temperature  of  the  water,  and  the  fish- 
culturist's  knowledge  of  its  liability  to  produce 
fungus,  must  help  him  to  decide  this  matter. 
In  very  cold  water  fungus  develops  very 
slowly,  but  in  rising  temperature  more  rapidly ; 
it  is  also  more  likely  to  appear  in  abundance  in 
hard  water  than  in  soft  water  of  the  same  tem- 
perature. The  appearance  of  dead  eggs  does 
not  always  mean  that  they  were  not  fertilised. 
Their  death  may  have  been  caused  by  careless 
handling,  by  being  jarred  or  bruised,  notably 
by  instruments  used  in  picking.  It  is  to  reduce 
the  possibility  of  injury  by  picking,  that  the  use 
of  the  rubber  bulb  is  advocated  instead  of  the 
old-fashioned  picker  employed  in  many  hatch- 
eries. 

When  trout  eggs  are  carefully  fertilised,  and 
water  conditions  remain  normal,  there  is  not 
likely  to  be  a  very  heavy  loss.  Occasionally 
something  that  cannot  be  foreseen  nor  pre- 
vented happens  which  results  in  an  abnormal 
death  rate  among  the  eggs,  sometimes  forcing 
the  employment  of  extra  labour  in  order  to  clean 


144  iFISH  CULTURE 

the  trays  before  fungus  appears.  As  egg-pick- 
ing under  such  circumstances  is  often  costly, 
fish-culturists  would  be  glad  if  some  method 
could  be  discovered  which  would  rapidly  and  in- 
expensively separate  the  good  from  the  bad 
eggs  without  injuring  the  former.  At  one  time 
it  was  hoped  that  a  salt  solution  might  be  ef- 
fectively employed. 

I  remember  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Amer- 
ican Fisheries  Society,  held  at  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  W.  Va.,  in  1905,  Mr.  Henry  O'Mally, 
of  Baker,  Washington,  announced  the  success- 
ful separation  of  good  and  bad  salmon  eggs 
of  several  species  without  injury  to  the  former, 
by  the  use  of  first  a  solution  of  equal  parts  of 
salt  and  water,  and  afterwards  one  part  salt  to 
nine  parts  water.  Under  this  treatment  the 
good  eggs  slowly  separated  and  settled  to  the 
bottom  while  the  bad  eggs  floated  to  the  surface 
and  could  be  skimmed  off.  This  discovery  led 
to  experiments  being  made  with  trout  and  other 
eggs,  but  the  results  as  far  as  published  do  not 
appear  to  be  very  satisfactory.  It  is  hoped  that 
further  experiments  with  brook-trout  and  lake- 
trout  eggs  may  show  a  better  outcome. 


HATCHING  TEOUT  145 

Egg  Development. — After  a  lapse  of  from  ten 
to  twelve  hours,  a  perfectly  fertilised  brook 
trout  egg,  when  held  to  the  light,  shows  what 
appears  to  be  several  globules  not  unlike  air 
bubbles  crowded  about  the  micropyle.  They 
are  so  small  that  only  the  sharp  eyes  of  an  ex- 
pert can  detect  them,  a  microscope  being  neces- 
sary to  aid  the  sight  of  the  unskilled.  In  addi- 
tion, the  egg  has  a  delicately  coloured,  clear, 
translucent  appearance.  After  a  lapse  of  three 
or  four  days  these  globules  become  elongated, 
and  otherwise  change  to  somewhat  the  form  of 
the  spreading  roots  of  a  tree.  About  a  week 
or  ten  days  later,  the  globules  have  disappeared 
and  in  their  place  there  is  a  very  indistinct 
outline  of  a  little  fish. 

Growth  of  the  Embryo. — Day  by  day  the  out- 
lines grow  more  definite,  yet  only  to  be  detected 
by  a  sharp  and  practised  eye,  until,  when  the 
egg  is  from  eighteen  days  to  three  weeks  old, 
two  intensely  black  spots  set  close  together  are 
plainly  visible.  These  are  fish's  eyes,— the  first 
unmistakable  view  of  the  embryo  observable. 

Next  is  sharply  outlined  a  jetty  V,  the  two 
points  of  which  touch  the  eyes.  These  converg- 


146  FISH  CULTUEE 

ing  lines  represent  the  contour  of  the  skull.  A 
little  later  a  curving  black  line  is  attached  to  the 
bottom  of  the  V  and  a  perfect  Y  is  the  result. 
The  tail  of  the  Y  is  the  backbone.  "With  suc- 
ceeding days  the  rude  outline  of  the  skull  and 
backbone  develops,  until  at  length  a  perfectly 
formed  fish  is  visible,  wrapped  almost  com- 
pletely around  an  oval  ball  (the  yolk-sac). 

Active  life  is  then  apparent.  At  first  it  is 
manifested  at  short  irregular  intervals  by  oc- 
casional tremors  through  the  little  fish ;  then,  in 
sudden,  convulsive,  jerky  movements  which  in- 
crease in  frequency  until  just  before  it  emerges 
from  the  shell.  As  soon  as  the  little  fish  has 
acquired  sufficient  strength  it  breaks  the  shell 
and  begins  to  emerge,  tail  first.  It  works  vigor- 
ously for  a  short  time,  then  rests,  then  resumes 
activity  and  so,  alternately  struggling  and  rest- 
ing, it  finally  frees  itself  wholly  from  the  mem- 
branous envelope  in  which  it  began  existence. 
To  break  through  the  shell  of  the  egg  tail  first, 
is  nature's  method  of  bringing  a  perfectly 
healthy  fish  into  the  world. 

Why  does  a  healthy  fish  always  issue  from  the  egg 
tail  first?  A  plausible  answer  is  that  by  so  doing 


HATCHING  TEOUT  147 

the  little  fish  is  enabled  to  keep  more  easily  his  gill- 
covers  open  and  breathe.  In  fact  the  shell,  dragging 
at  the  edge  of  the  gill-covers,  pulls  them  open  and 
thus  gives  assistance  to  a  safe  delivery.  If  the  little 
creatures  were  to  emerge  head  first  the  shell  would 
most  likely  press  itself  against  the  gill-covers,  close 
them,  and  either  smother  the  fish  or  leave  it  so  weak 
that  death  would  surely  follow  in  a  little  while.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact  that  the  issuance 
of  a  fish  in  any  other  manner  than  tail  foremost  is 
indicative  of  premature  or  improper  hatching,  with 
early  death  as  a  result. 

As  the  fry  emerge,  they  fall  through  the  long 
meshes  in  the  trays  to  the  bottom  of  the  trough 
which  at  this  time  contains  no  gravel  or  sand. 
They  are  then  gathered  daily,  or  oftener,  by 
means  of  a  feather  and  scap-net,  placed  in  pans 
of  water  and  transferred  to  troughs  previously 
made  ready  for  them,  the  bottoms  of  which  are 
covered  with  fine,  well  washed  gravel.  It  is 
important  that  the  gravel  be  not  sharp,  but 
water-worn  and  smooth,  so  that  the  delicate 
covering  of  the  yolk-sac  cannot  be  injured  by 
the  wrigglings  of  the  little  fish.  When  a  suf- 
ficient supply  of  good  gravel  is  secured,  it 
should  be  carefully  preserved  from  year  to 


148  FISH  CULTURE 

year ;  because  the  of tener  it  is  used,  the  better 
adapted  it  becomes  to  its  purpose. 

Provided  they  are  disturbed  as  little  as  pos- 
sible, and  there  is  a  proper  water-supply,  the 
care  of  good  eggs  to  the  period  of  "  eyeing " 
is  called  a  very  simple  matter  by  many  people. 
Nevertheless  from  the  third  day  after  fertilisa- 
tion to  the  appearance  of  the  eyes  is  a  period, 
which,  if  not  critical,  is  at  least  one  which  will 
require  unremitting  watchfulness  and  care. 

Moving  eggs  about  before  the  eyeing  period 
may  or  may  not  be  seriously  injurious  accord- 
ing to  local  conditions.  In  some  fish  hatcheries 
it  would  be  considered  fatal  to  the  bulk  of  the 
eggs  at  least,  to  disturb  them  in  any  manner 
whatever,  until  they  showed  the  eyes.  In  other 
establishments  it  is  declared  that  the  eggs  may 
be  handled  with  perfect  freedom  and  safety,  if 
the  work  be  done  carefully;  and  feathered, 
cleaned  or  salted.  A  capable  superintendent 
of  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  stations  declared 
emphatically  and  truthfully  that  he  had  a  less 
percentage  of  loss  from  trays  which  he  removed 
during  this  period  from  one  trough  to  another 
for  the  purpose  of  salting  when  fungus  ap- 


HATCHING  TEOUT  149 

peared,  than  he  had  among  eggs  which  he  did 
not  disturb. 

On  the  other  hand,  at  another  station,  a  su- 
perintendent equally  capable  and  truthful,  as- 
serted that  in  his  hatchery  such  treatment 
would  be  fatal  to  every  egg.  From  this  it  may 
be  gathered  that  to  what  extent  eggs  may  be 
handled,  feathered  and  salted,  before  they  are 
eyed,  depends  more  or  less  on  the  water  condi- 
tions in  the  hatchery;  and  in  a  measure  must 
be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  fish-culturist  to 
determine.  On  general  principles,  however,  it 
is  wiser  to  leave  the  eggs  undisturbed  except 
in  so  far  as  picking  is  concerned. 

It  is  greater  wisdom  to  take  the  chance  of 
eggs  smothering  from  a  muddy  deposit  than  to 
wash  them  by  removing  the  trays  to  troughs  or 
tubs  of  clean  water  and  moving  them  gently  up 
and  down;  or  even  cleaning  the  eggs  by  means 
of  a  feather  without  removing  the  trays.  This 
is  particularly  true  where  the  eggs  are  cared 
for  in  troughs  of  the  Pennsylvania  patterns. 
There  is  much  less  danger  of  smothering  in 
troughs  when  the  circulation  of  water  is  up  and 
down  through  the  trays,  as  it  is  in  the  troughs 


150  FISH  CULTUEE 

of  tie  Clark  make  or  those  of  similar  pattern. 
Of  course  if  it  becomes  plainly  evident  that  eggs 
in  the  troughs  of  the  Pennsylvania  pattern  are 
certain  to  smother  if  the  mud  which  surrounds 
them  is  not  cleaned,  then  the  risk  of  clearing 
must  be  taken  if  there  is  the  slightest  chance 
that  even  a  part  of  them  may  be  saved.  After 
eyeing,  eggs  can  be  handled  freely  and  cleansed 
at  will  without  danger. 

One  very  important  thing  is  to  avoid  any  jar- 
ring of  the  troughs  and  trays  during  the  entire 
period  of  incubation.  It  is  very  disastrous  to 
green  and  young  eggs,  and  productive  of  mon- 
strosities at  the  eyeing  period.  Double  fishes, 
that  is,  two  fishes  to  one  yolk,  are  not  produced 
in  this  manner,  but  through  more  than  one  atom 
of  milt  having  entered  the  micropyle  when  the 
egg  was  fertilised. 

Feathering. — Frequent  mention  has  been 
made  of  feathering  eggs.  The  operation  con- 
sists simply  in  taking  a  feather,  preferably  a 
turkey  feather,  and  gently  waving  it  along  the 
eggs  or  the  fry,  or  among  or  over  them.  Feath- 
ering only  begins  after  the  eyes  show,  and  ought 
to  be  repeated  frequently  thereafter.  It  is  done 


HATCHING  TEOUT  151 

to  aid  in  the  aeration  of  the  water  about  the 
eggs,  as  after  eyeing  they  should  come  into  con- 
tact with  plenty  of  free  oxygen  in  the  water 
which  flows  over  them.  The  frequency  of 
feathering  will  therefore  depend  on  the  amount 
of  oxygen  there  is  in  the  water.  Feathering 
also  assists  in  the  prevention  of  the  growth  of 
fungus,  and  in  other  particulars  appears  to  be 
an  aid  in  successful  hatching. 

Care  During  the  Yolk-sac  Period. — The  num- 
ber of  fry  placed  in  a  trough  is  a  matter  of 
discretion  and  ability  to  care  for  them.  Almost 
as  soon  as  transferred  from  the  screens  the  fry 
will  " huddle, "  as  it  is  termed;  that  is,  gather 
together  thickly  in  different  parts  of  the  trough, 
usually  in  the  corners  and  along  the  sides. 
Huddling  is  regarded  as  a  sign  of  health.  If 
the  fry  do  not  do  this  within  a  reasonable  time 
after  hatching,  and  continue  to  do  so  until  the 
sac  is  partially  absorbed,  they  are  not  thor- 
oughly strong  and  healthy.  It  is  possible  of 
course  for  the  little  creatures  to  huddle  in  too 
great  numbers  in  some  particular  parts  of  the 
trough,  so  it  is  advisable  to  set  low  partitions 
in  the  bottom,  near  the  head  and  at  the  centre. 


152  FISH  CULTUEE 

These  will  invariably  attract  some  of  the  fry 
and  so  distribute  the  groups  more  evenly 
throughout  the  troughs,  thus  preventing  what 
might  otherwise  result  in  smothering.  While 
the  sac  remains,  the  fry  will  take  no  food,  ex- 
cept that  which  is  furnished  by  the  contents  of 
the  sac.  This  is  absorbed. 

The  period  of  absorption  depends  largely 
upon  the  temperature  of  the  water.  In  most 
spring  water  the  period  is  from  35  to  45  days. 
In  creek  waters  it  is  from  60  to  120  days.  The 
lower  the  temperature  the  longer  the  time  re- 
quired for  the  absorption.  Under  favourable 
conditions  the  growth  of  fry  during  this  period 
is  very  rapid.  After  the  sac  is  partially  ab- 
sorbed the  huddling  is  less  persistent,  and  as 
the  days  pass  there  is  an  increasing  inclination 
on  the  part  of  the  fry  to  scatter.  Just  before 
the  sac  has  entirely  disappeared  the  little  fish 
begin  to  rise  towards  the  surface  and  scatter 
freely  over  the  bottom  of  the  troughs ;  and  when 
the  absorption  of  the  sac  is  complete  the  little 
fish  start  to  take  food  which  is  prepared  for 
them. 

The  care  of  the  fry  during  the  absorption  of 


HATCHING  TROUT  153 

the  sac  is  a  work  that  should  receive  close  at- 
tention. Troughs  must  be  kept  clear  of  fungus, 
which  quickly  develops  whenever  any  of  the 
young  fish  die,  or  when  filth  is  allowed  to  ac- 
cumulate; hence  not  only  should  dead  fish  be 
picked  from  the  troughs  as  quickly  as  possible, 
but  the  troughs  feathered  often  to  remove  the 
sediment  or  other  dirt  which  invariably  gathers 
when  feeding  begins. 

After  the  sac  is  absorbed  and  the  little  fish 
arise,  a  strip  of  wood  an  inch  wide  should  be 
added  to  the  lower  end  of  the  troughs,  so  as  to 
increase  the  depth  of  the  water  to  about  three 
inches.  This  will  enable  them  to  swim  up 
more  freely  and  render  the  task  of  feeding 
easier. 

After  feeding  is  begun  the  advanced  fry,  as 
they  are  now  called,  require  very  close  attention 
to  prevent  the  breaking  out  or  spread  of  disease, 
especially  fungus  and  "sore  throat. "  The  lat- 
ter is  caused  generally  by  the  fish  becoming 
weakened  through  an  insufficient  supply  of  oxy- 
gen, especially  when  the  troughs  are  crowded. 
Should  more  than  a  normal  mortality  be  noticed 
at  any  time,  the  young  fish  must  be  given  a  salt 


154  [PISH  CULTURE 

batK,  an'd  perhaps  tHe  number  in  eacH  trough 
be  reduced.  In  fact,  after  the  fish  have  been 
feeding  well,  there  should  be  a  thinning  out  be- 
fore any  sign  of  disease  or  undue  uneasiness 
develops.  A  trough  filled  with  fry  will  be 
greatly  overcrowded  by  advanced  fry  after  a 
fortnight.  The  extent  of  the  thinning  will  de- 
pend of  course  on  the  number  of  fry  that  were 
first  put  in  the  troughs.  This  must  be  left 
wholly  to  the  judgment  or  experience  of  the 
fish-culturist.  It  might  be  said  that  where  close 
attention  is  paid  to  the  health  of  the  advanced 
fry  a  much  larger  number  can  be  carried  in  a 
trough  than  some  people  suppose. 

Not  many  years  ago  the  average  fish-culturist 
would  hesitate  to  carry  more  than  15,000  ad- 
vanced fry  in  a  trough  in  which  the  same  man 
to-day  would  not  hesitate  to  carry  over  30,000, 
or  if  driven  to  it,  40,000,  and  bring  them  through 
successfully.  While  this  is  true,  it  is  not  ad- 
visable to  carry  more  than  15,000  or  20,000 
advanced  fry  in  a  twelve-foot  trough,  nor  is  it 
advisable  to  go  far  below  the  smaller  number 
mentioned,  because  there  is  less  likelihood  of 
all  the  food  that  is  given  out  being  devoured, 


HATCHING  TEOUT  155 

and  uneaten  food  is  a  developer  of  fungus. 

Dangers  to  the  Fry. — With  a  marked  increase 
over  15,000,  there  is  proportionately  a  greater 
amount  of  care  and  attention  required  and 
greater  danger  of  disaster.  Troughs  contain- 
ing only  about  15,000  will  require  attention  about 
once  a  day  in  addition  to  the  three  daily  meals. 
A  trough  containing  30,000  will  require  care  at 
least  three  or  four  times  daily,  exclusive  of 
feeding,  and  must  be  carefully  scanned  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning  and  the  last  thing  at 
night. 

If  trouble  breaks  out  in  a  heavily  stocked 
trough  the  danger  of  a  total  loss  is  much  greater 
than  where  there  is  only  a  normal  quantity. 
Naturally  the  number  must  be  governed  some- 
what by  the  temperature  of  the  water  and  the 
character  of  the  troughs.  It  would  be  perfectly 
safe  to  carry  20,000  to  25,000  for  two  or  three 
months  after  the  sacs  have  been  absorbed  in 
troughs  of  the  Pennsylvania  pattern.  After  a 
couple  of  months  there  must  be  further  thin- 
ning. The  higher  the  temperature  the  smaller 
the  number  of  fish  that  can  be  carried  safely, 
for  the  reason  that  with  the  higher  tempera- 


156  FISH  CULTURE 

tures  there  is  more  rapid  breathing  and  there- 
fore a  greater  amount  of  oxygen  consumed. 

Salt-Baths. — Mention  has  been  made  of  the 
use  of  salt.  It  is  both  important  and  necessary 
in  successful  trout  work.  Salt  is  to  the  fish- 
culturist  what  calomel  or  quinine  is  to  the  doc- 
tor of  human  patients,  a  sort  of  preliminary 
cure-all.  On  the  other  hand  it  should  also  be 
said,  by  way  of  caution,  that  salt  is  to  a  fish  what 
strychnine  is  to  mankind — death,  when  admin- 
istered in  too  heavy  doses,  a  powerful  stimulant 
when  used  under  proper  conditions  and  in  due 
proportions.  Salt  is  also  useful  as  a  cleanser 
of  troughs  and  ponds.  The  discovery  of  the 
valuable  medical  and  hygienic  qualities  of  salt 
in  fish-cultural  work  was  made  in  1872  by  Liv- 
ingston Stone. 

Salt  baths  for  fry  are  advisable,  as  they  act 
as  preventives  of  gill  troubles.  They  should 
be  administered  in  varying  degrees  of  strength 
regulated  by  needs  of  the  different  stages  of 
disease  that  may  present  themselves.  In  very 
mild  cases,  or  when  there  is  slight  indication  of 
sickness  among  the  fry,  the  salt  can  be  placed 
at  the  head  of  a  trough  where  the  water  from 


HATCHING  TEOUT  157 

the  faucet  can  fall  on  it.  This  will  make  a  very 
weak  solution  which  will  run  through  every 
part  of  the  trough.  If  the  disease  be  more  pro- 
nounced, and  a  more  effective  dose  be  neces- 
sary, the  salt  can  be  scattered  over  the  bottom 
of  the  trough  and  then  thoroughly  dissolved  by 
the  hand,  leaving  the  water  running  during  the 
saturation.  As  the  fish  grow  older  it  is  some- 
times well  to  put  salt  in  the  water,  even  when 
there  is  no  pronounced  indication  of  disease. 
There  are  two  very  good  methods  of  admin- 
istering a  salt  bath  to  advanced  fry  and  finger- 
lings  while  yet  in  the  hatching-house.  The 
most  successful  is  to  cut  off  the  water-supply 
and  distribute  salt  as  evenly  as  possible 
throughout  the  trough ;  then  by  a  gentle  motion 
of  the  hand  back  and  forth  through  the  gravel, 
dissolve  it.  The  other  method  is  first  to  dis- 
solve the  salt  in  a  pailful  of  water,  and  then, 
after  turning  off  the  water-supply  as  in  the 
other  method,  distribute  the  brine  as  evenly  as 
possible  over  the  trough  by  means  of  a  small 
sprinkling-can  or  watering-pot.  Should  it  hap- 
pen that  the  disease  is  widespread,  and  heroic 
measures  are  necessary,  the  amount  of  salt 


158  FISH  CULTUEE 

must  be  increased  and  the  fish  kept  in  the  brine 
until  they  all  exhibit  great  distress.  When 
some  of  the  fish  begin  to  turn  over,  the  fresh 
water  must  be  turned  on  at  once  and  the  salt 
water  washed  out  as  quickly  as  possible.  Un- 
der this  heroic  treatment  some  fish  may  die,  but 
this  need  cause  no  alarm,  for  they  would  have 
died  in  any  event.  When  a  large  amount  of 
fungus  develops  daily  among  eyed  eggs,  good 
results  may  be  obtained  by  taking  the  trays 
carefully  out  of  the  troughs  and  sprinkling  them 
by  means  of  a  sprinkling-pot  with  a  solution 
of  salt  and  water. 

Another  word  of  caution  is  necessary  con- 
cerning the  use  of  salt.  Under  no  circum- 
stances must  what  is  commonly  called  "  table 
salt"  be  used.  There  is  something  in  the  proc- 
ess of  refining  for  table  purposes  that  is 
highly  injurious  to  fish.  Almost  any  form  of 
coarse  salt  can  be  employed,  except  pulverised 
rock  salt. 

Eeference  has  been  made  to  cleaning  troughs 
by  means  of  a  scap-net.  The  process  is  both 
simple  and  interesting.  First  the  water-supply 
is  turned  off  at  the  faucet,  and  the  upper  strip 


HATCHING  TROUT  159 

of  wood  which  forms  the  dam  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  trough  is  removed,  first  making  sure  that 
the  screen  above  the  dam  is  secure  and  clean. 
When  the  water  has  fallen  to  about  an  inch  in 
depth,  the  operator  feathers  from  one  end  of 
the  trough  to  the  other.  Then  he  takes  the  scap- 
net  and,  beginning  at  the  upper  end,  works  it 
gradually  to  the  lower  in  very  short  sweeps, 
picking  up  the  dirt  and  also  very  weak  fish, 
which  if  allowed  to  remain  would  undoubtedly 
die.  A  spawning-pan  containing  water  is  kept 
close  at  hand  and  into  it  is  emptied  the  contents 
of  the  scap-net,  to  be  finally  thrown  away. 


CHAPTER  XI 
REARING  YOUNG  TROUT 

THE  successful  care  of  trout  in  ponds  from 
the  fingerling*  stage  to  maturity,  and  until  they 
are  disposed  of,  depends  upon  having  sufficient 
water,  clean  ponds  and  proper  food.  Finger- 
lings  which  are  designed  for  breeding  purposes 
should  be  transferred  to  outside  ponds  as  soon 
as  possible  after  they  have  reached  that  stage, 
or  in  the  advanced-fry  stage  soon  after  they 
have  begun  to  feed. 

The  most  difficult  period  for  carrying  trout 
is  the  first  summer.  Unless  every  precaution 
is  taken,  the  utmost  diligence  observed,  and  the 
best  skill  exerted,  it  will  likely  be  found  in  Oc- 
tober, when  the  transfer  of  fish  from  the  hatch- 

*  Fry, — Fish  freshly  hatched,  still  carrying  the  yolk-sac ; 
Advanced  fry, — Fish  with  the  sac  absorbed,  but  less  than  1 
inch  long;  Fingerlings, — Fry  less  than  1  year  old;  No.  1  fin- 
gerlings,  are  from  1  to  2  in.  long,  No.  2,  from  2  to  3  in.  long. 
Yearlings, — Fish  from  1  year  old  and  over. 

160 


BEARING  YOUNG  TROUT          161 

ing-house  to  the  ponds  is  made,  that  the  number 
has  been  ranch  reduced.  I  have  known  the  loss 
to  be  half  during  the  first  summer  of  an  estab- 
lishment. 

One  method,  usually  safe,  of  reducing  the 
death-rate  during  the  advanced-fry  and  finger- 
ling  stages  is  to  furnish  plenty  of  shade.  At 
one  of  the  stations  in  Pennsylvania  the  annual 
death-rate  was  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  until  the 
nursery-ponds  were  completely  covered,  be- 
tween March  and  October,  whereupon  the 
death-rate  fell  from  10  to  15  per  cent. 

Automatic  Feeders. — Rapidity  of  growth, 
which  is  important  when  rearing  for  the  mar- 
ket, can  best  be  stimulated  during  the  first  six 
or  eight  months  after  the  sac  is  absorbed  by 
the  use  of  one  of  the  forms  of  automatic  feed- 
ing apparatus.  It  is  then  possible  for  one  man 
to  care  easily  for  almost  any  number  of  ponds 
holding  from  5,000  to  10,000  fish  each.  Young 
trout  should  be  given  all  the  food  they  can  con- 
sume, but  no  more,  since  more  will  be  a  waste, 
and  will  foul  the  ponds.  The  reservoir  of  the 
feeder  should  be  replenished  at  regular  inter- 
vals with  an  amount  that  will  become  exhausted 


162  FISH  CULTUEE 

in  about  an  hour.  It  is  also  essential  to  the 
successful  operation  of  an  automatic  feeder  that 
the  food  remain  of  uniform  consistency.  If  the 
liquid  liver  paste  or  the  milk  becomes  thickened 
beyond  a  certain  point  it  cannot  be  drawn  into 
the  water  by  the  piston  system  or  properly  cast 
by  the  revolving-spoon  device. 

Some  men  object  to  the  automatic  feeder 
chiefly  on  the  ground  that  the  strongest  finger- 
lings  will  get  all  the  food  and  the  weakest  none 
or  very  little ;  at  the  end  of  a  few  months,  they 
say,  there  will  be  a  few  very  large  fish  and  a 
great  number  of  half-starved  and  little  ones. 
My  experience  and  that  of  others  is  that  this 
does  not  occur,  especially  when  the  trout  are 
sorted  at  the  proper  time.  Even  if  it  were  true 
that  the  largest  and  strongest  get  nearly  all 
the  food  and  the  weakest  very  little,  the  condi- 
tion would  hardly  be  worse  than  when  fed  by 
hand.  I  may  add  that  after  observing  a  con- 
tinual use  of  automatic  feeders  for  a  long  time 
I  find  that  the  average  size  of  all  fish  fed  in 
this  manner  is  at  least  a  third  larger  than  those 
fed  by  hand.  This  is  also  much  the  cheaper 
way.  In  hand  feeding,  one  man  can  care  for 


EEAEING  YOUNG  TEOUT         163 

only  half  the  number  of  fingerling-ponds  that 
can  be  managed  when  the  automatic  feeder  is 
in  use. 

There  are  several  designs  of  automatic  feeders  more 
or  less  in  use,  two  of  which  seem  to  be  most  generally 
favoured.  Both  are  operated  by  means  of  a  small 
waterwheel,  and  are  usually  set  at  the  head  of  the 
nursery-pond.  One  supplies  the  food  by  drawing  it 
from  the  reservoir  by  means  of  a  piston  rod,  which 
works  back  and  forth  through  a  hole  bored  in  the 
side  close  to  the  bottom.  A  good  reservoir  may  be 
made  from  a  stoneware  marmalade  jar  with  a  hole 
bored  in  the  side  close  to  the  bottom.  The  other 
throws  the  food  over  the  surface  of  the  pond  by  three 
or  four  wooden  spoons  or  slightly  hollowed  paddles 
set  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  in  a  hub.  I  prefer  the 
first,  because  it  supplies  the  food  more  regularly,  more 
evenly,  and  much  more  slowly  than  the  second.  The 
last  point  is  of  decided  merit,  for  until  the  supply 
of  food  in  the  reservoir  is  exhausted,  there  are  finger- 
lings  waiting  eagerly  for  each  grain  that  falls. 

Food  for  Fingerlings. — Fingerlings  or  ad- 
vanced fry,  having  been  placed  in  the  nursery- 
ponds,  should  be  given  food  not  less  than  three 
times  a  day.  Experience  has  taught  us  that 
there  are  two  kinds  of  food  that  yield  the  best 


164  FIBH  CULTURE 

results.  One  is  liver,  prepared  by  rubbing  it 
through  perforated  tins  so  as  to  reduce  it  to 
the  consistency  of  a  pulp  or  paste ;  the  other  is 
thick  milk.  The  liver  paste  should  be  mixed 
with  water  until  it  is  thin  enough  to  be  drawn 
through  the  automatic  feeder  drop  by  drop,  at 
such  a  rate  as  will  enable  the  fish  to  feed 
steadily  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half  be- 
fore the  reservoir  is  exhausted.  If  it  is  made 
too  thin,  it  will  be  dropped  into  the  ponds  faster 
than  it  can  be  eaten.  When  the  feeding  is  to  be 
done  by  hand  the  liver  paste  may  be  made  a 
little  thinner  than  when  prepared  for  the  auto- 
matic apparatus. 

In  the  preparation  of  milk-food  the  best  re- 
sults are  obtained  by  using  skimmed  milk  which 
has  been  allowed  to  curdle  and  thicken  natu- 
rally. The  thickening  ought  not  to  be  forced  by 
scalding  or  boiling,  which  gives  a  toughness  to 
the  curds  that  is  undesirable,  and  which  is  not 
so  easily  digested  as  the  soft  particles  of  nat- 
urally thickened  milk.  It  should  be  placed  in 
the  automatic  feeders  in  the  same  quantities 
as  the  liver.  A  little  salt,  occasionally,  in  both 
the  milk  and  liver  paste,  has  been  found  to  be 


EEAEING  YOUNG  TKOUT         165 

beneficial  to  the  fingerlings,  but  so  little  should 
be  used  that  the  salinity  would  not  be  percep- 
tible to  our  taste.  Most  fish-culturists  use  thick 
milk  only  as  a  change  of  diet,  and  in  proportion 
of  one  meal  to  three.  Very  few  offer  it  exclu- 
sively or  as  often  as  the  liver  paste.  I  have 
never  heard  a  good  reason  for  this,  and  have 
found  that  young  trout,  at  least  until  they  were 
six  or  seven  months  old,  lived  and  thrived  on 
thick  milk  exclusively,  with  care  as  to  over- 
feeding, so  that  no  surplus  shall  accumulate 
on  the  bottom  of  the  ponds  and  ferment. 

Hand  feeding  is  done  by  means  of  a  rubber 
bulb  or  a  spoon.  I  prefer  the  bulb,  for  with  it 
the  fingerlings  can  be  fed  more  rapidly,  more 
effectively,  and  the  food  scattered  more  evenly 
over  the  surface  of  the  water.  Whether  using 
a  spoon  or  a  bulb  it  is  expedient  to  teach  the 
young  fish  to  come  to  a  certain  spot  in  the  pond 
for  their  food,  by  patiently  and  persistently 
feeding  them  at  the  same  place  every  day.  It 
saves  time  and  labour,  and  is  amusing. 

A  curious  fact  may  be  noted  here,  illustrating  the 
ease  with  which  habits  may  be  acquired  by  young 
trout,  and  the  trouble  which  may  ensue  when  it  is 


166  FISH  CULTUEE 

desired  to  change  them.  A  natural  habit  of  wild 
trout  is  to  rise  towards  the  surface  for  food,  and  to 
ignore  anything  excepting  living  creatures  on  the  bot- 
tom. The  initial  food  for  young  trout  in  captivity, 
as  I  have  said,  is  liver  and  thick  milk,  both  of  which 
sink  rapidly  to  the  bottom.  "When  they  begin  to  feed, 
the  advanced  fry  seize  the  liver  or  milk  as  it  sinks, 
and  soon  learn  to  pick  it  up  from  the  gravel.  They 
keep  this  up  after  being  transferred  to  the  ponds. 
After  the  lapse  of  several  months  the  young  trout, 
having  reached  the  dignity  of  fingerlings,  have  their 
food  changed  to  chopped  lungs.  Now  lungs  are 
lighter  than  water,  and  therefore  float.  When  first 
introduced  to  this  food  the  young  trout  pay  little  at- 
tention to  it,  not  coming  freely  to  the  surface  for  it, 
but  apparently  waiting  for  it  to  sink;  and  it  some- 
times requires  two  or  three  weeks  of  very  patient  work 
to  teach  the  youngsters  to  rise  to  the  surface  for  their 
food. 

After  the  young  fish  have  remained  in  the 
nursery  ponds  or  races  until  their  size  has  ap- 
preciably increased,  it  is  important  that  they  be 
sorted  according  to  size,  and  transferred  to  the 
rearing-ponds  where  they  must  be  fed  by  hand, 
and  regularly  given  as  much  food  as  they  will 
consume,  but  no  more. 

Feeding  Yearlings. — When  the  trout  reach 


EEAEING  YOUNG  TBOUT         167 

the  yearling  stage  the  food  is  changed  from 
liver  paste  and  thick  milk  to  chopped  lungs  and 
hearts  and  liver,  cut  in  small  pieces,  but  not 
mashed  into  a  paste.  In  some  establishments 
certain  artificial  foods  are  furnished  from  time 
to  time  as  a  change  of  diet,  and  in  one  com- 
mercial establishment  the  principal  food  for 
trout  over  six  months  old  is  flour  cooked  into 
a  mush,  while  trout  of  younger  age,  after  the 
advanced-fry  stage,  are  fed  a  mush  of  half  flour 
and  half  liver  paste. 

Meat  Food. — Meat  food  is  ground  by  a 
sausage-grinder  through  perforations  of  a  size 
convenient  for  the  fish  to  swallow,  and  scattered 
over  the  surface  of  the  pond  so  that  every  fish 
will  have  a  chance  to  get  its  share,  and  all  will 
be  consumed.  The  different  kinds  of  meat 
foods  usually  given  the  older  fish  are  the  livers 
of  beef,  or  the  lungs  and  livers  of  a  hog,  or  the 
heart,  lungs  and  livers  of  sheep.  The  last  is 
best  for  advanced  fry  and  fingerlings  because 
it  is  more  easily  prepared.  There  is  an  un- 
pleasant sliminess  about  hog  liver  that  renders 
it  undesirable  for  trout  young  or  old.  Many 
men  engaged  in  rearing  trout  use  blood  for 


168  FISH  CULTURE 

feeding  advanced  fry  and  fingerlings,  and  no 
more  excellent  nourishment  can  be  recom- 
mended. To  prepare  it  for  use  the  blood  from  a 
slaughtered  animal,  while  still  warm,  is  run  di- 
rectly into  a  barrel  and  stirred  vigorously  until 
it  is  smoothly  thick.  Blood  allowed  to  thicken 
without  stirring  is  clotted,  stringy,  and  unfit 
for  feeding  purposes. 

Cleanliness  Required. — Clean  ponds  are  as 
important  factors  towards  success  as  the  char- 
acter and  quantity  of  the  food.  Dead  fish 
should  be  removed  at  once.  In  every  hatchery 
there  ought  to  be  a  standing  rule  that  every 
pond  must  be  gone  over  the  first  thing  each 
morning,  and  any  fish  which  may  have  died 
during  the  previous  24  hours  taken  out.  Filth 
of  any  kind  and  certain  forms  of  algae  must 
not  be  allowed  to  accumulate,  and  the  ponds 
therefore  need  to  be  cleaned  at  regular  inter- 
vals. It  is  as  necessary  for  the  health  of  the 
fish  that  the  ponds  be  kept  clean,  as  it  is  for  the 
well  being  of  a  man  that  the  house  in  which  he 
lives  be  kept  free  from  filth;  in  both  oases  dirt 
breeds  disease. 

Fonda  with  concrete,  or  building-tile  sides 


EEAEING  YOUNG  TKOUT         169 

are  naturally  the  easiest  to  cleanse,  and  those 
with  natural  banks  the  hardest.  To  clean  con- 
crete or  tile  ponds  the  water-supply  is  first  shut 
off  and  nearly  all  the  water  is  allowed  to  run 
away.  Before  the  drawing,  a  quantity  of  salt 
should  be  dissolved  and  the  brine  thrown  into 
the  water,  so  as  to  loosen  slime  and  other  refuse 
that  may  be  deposited  on  the  bottom  and  sides. 
The  salt  will  at  the  same  time  act  as  a  health 
bath  for  the  fish.  When  the  water  has  been 
drawn  off  as  far  as  safety  will  permit,  the  sides 
of  the  pond  are  thoroughly  swabbed  with  a 
brush  and  the  dirt  and  refuse  worked  to  the 
lower  end  to  the  outlet,  where  the  current  will 
carry  it  away  when  again  turned  on.  To  clean 
large  ponds  containing  mature  fish  draw  the 
water  down,  clean  the  sides  with  a  brush,  and 
then  allow  the  full  current  of  water  to  run 
through  the  ponds. 

Sorting. — Trout,  like  other  carnivorous  fishes, 
are  cannibals,  and  in  a  wild  state  the  death- 
rate  frcm  this  cause  is  large.  Partly  for  this 
reason  the  trout  in  the  ponds  ought  to  be  sorted 
into  sizes  as  soon  as  possible.  When  first  in- 
troduced into  the  nursery-ponds  as  advanced 


170  FISH  CULTUEE 

fry  or  fingerlings  they  are  too  small  to  sort, 
but  through  the  agency  of  heavy  feeding  there 
will  be  a  sufficient  growth  to  warrant  the  work 
being  done  for  the  first  time  about  the  middle 
of  June.  There  should  be  a  second  sorting  in 
August  and  a  third  not  later  than  the  middle  of 
October. 

In  ordinary  circumstances  the  fish  can  be 
divided,  in  June,  into  three  classes,  or  at  most 
four,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  same  number 
of  grades  can  be  maintained  both  in  August 
and  October.  The  nursery-ponds  will  continue 
to  be  the  abiding  place  of  the  fish  after  both 
the  June  and  August  sortings.  After  this  work 
in  October  they  are  not  returned  to  the  nursery- 
ponds,  but  transferred  to  the  yearling-ponds, 
where  they  remain  until  after  they  reach  the 
age  of  20  months,  or  until  the  spawning  period. 
After  having  the  spawn  taken  from  them  the 
fish  are  transferred  to  their  final  home  in  the 
largest  adult-ponds. 

During  the  two  or  three  months  immedi- 
ately following  the  recovery  of  the  fish 
from  the  labour  of  spawning,  or  the  or- 
deal of  being  stripped,  trout  grow  faster 


BEAEING  YOUNG  TEOUT          171 

than  at  any  other  period  in  the  year;  con- 
sequently, as  soon  as  they  have  begun  to 
recover,  they  should  be  given  all  the  food 
they  will  eat  in  order  to  assist  and  foster 
the  growth.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant advice  that  can  be  given  with  respect  to 
feeding.  Delay  in  feeding  regularly  at  other 
times  is  not  as  serious  as  a  failure  to  furnish 
them  a  full  and  regular  supply  during  the  two 
or  three  months  just  mentioned. 

After  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  months,  if  the 
hatchery  is  one  in  which  the  main  object  is  the 
propagation  of  the  fry  and  fingerlings  for 
breeding  or  distribution  and  not  for  the  market, 
it  would  be  well  to  decrease  slightly  the  amount 
of  food  given  daily,  as  a  growth  beyond  the 
normal  for  their  age  is  likely  sometimes  to 
cause  a  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the  eggs. 
In  my  experience  the  proportion  of  ''ringers" 
in  eggs  is  frequently  increased  where  fish  are 
over-fed  to  increase  their  size. 

If,  however,  the  propagation  of  fry  and 
fingerlings  for  stocking  purposes  is  secondary 
to  the  rearing  of  fish  for  market,  then  the  food 
question  assumes  another  aspect.  Naturally 


172  FISH  CULTURE 

the  aim  of  those  who  rear  for  commercial  pur- 
poses is  to  produce  as  rapid  a  growth  as  pos- 
sible so  that  the  fish  will  be  marketable  at  an 
early  date.  In  those  circumstances  the  fish 
should  be  given  daily,  throughout  the  year,  as 
much  as  they  can  gorge.  In  commercial  estab- 
lishments feeding  occurs  rarely  less  than  three 
times  a  day,  and  in  some  of  them  as  many  as 
five  times  daily. 

It  is  said  that  ordinarily  a  trout  will  eat 
daily,  if  given  the  opportunity,  about  one- 
twentieth  its  own  weight.  In  one  establish- 
ment, where  fish  are  raised  for  the  market,  food 
to  about  one  fourth  the  estimated  total  weight 
of  fish  is  given  regularly  and  there  is  much  dis- 
ease among  the  fish.  In  another,  the  average 
amount  of  food  is  about  one  fifth  the  estimated 
weight  of  fish  in  the  ponds.  In  this  instance 
there  is  no  disease  and  very  little  fouling  of 
ponds  is  perceptible.  The  ponds  are  very 
large,  covering  about  half  an  acre  each  with 
a  depth  of  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  the 
kettle,  and  supplied  by  a  large  volume  of  creek 
water,  consequently  it  cannot  be  laid  down  as 
a  hard  and  fast  rule  that  over  feeding  is  sure 


EEAEING  YOUNG  TROUT          173 

to  breed  disease.  By  feeding  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  their  capacity,  trout  at  the  age  of  20 
months  will  equal  in  size  the  normal  growth 
of  a  three-year-old  fish,  a  size  which  finds  the 
readiest  sale  in  the  market. 


CHAPTER  XH 
THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON 

SALMON-CULTUBE  is  carried  on  almost  entirely 
by  the  United  States  government,  and  on  the 
Atlantic  is  maintained  for  sentimental  reasons 
rather  than  for  any  great  practical  results. 
Nearly  all  the  large  streams  in  New  England 
were  once  abundantly  supplied  with  salmon, 
but  now  only  the  Kennebec  and  the  Penobscot 
in  x  Maine  contain  it  in  any  numbers.  The 
United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  supports  a 
hatchery  in  that  state,  but  the  cost  of  operat- 
ing it  is  nearly  or  quite  equal  to  the  value  of 
the  catch  of  fish. 

Numerous  stations  are  maintained  by  the 
government  on  the  Columbia  Eiver  and  in 
Alaska  for  the  propagation  of  the  various 
species  of  the  Pacific  salmon,  and  with  great 
success.  Efforts  have  been  made  from  time  to 
time  to  transplant  the  quinnat  salmon  to  the 

174 


THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON          175 

Atlantic  coast,  but  always  without  good  for- 
tune, apparently  because  its  natural  spawn- 
ing-grounds are  in  a  much  higher  latitude  than 
Maine. 

Attempts  were  also  made  to  introduce  the 
silversides,  a  fish  that  spawns  in  about  the  same 
latitude  as  the  Atlantic  salmon;  the  young 
thrived  in  the  hatching-ponds  at  East  Orland, 
Maine,  and  in  the  state  breeding-ponds  in  Penn- 
sylvania, to  within  one  year  of  breeding  age, 
when  the  experiment  was  abandoned.  Fish  a 
year  old  had  attained  an  average  length  of 
seven  or  eight  inches;  they  fed  greedily  and 
maintained  vigorous  health.  That  initial 
plantings  in  the  tributaries  of  the  Delaware 
River  were  successful  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that 
in  July,  1908,  three  young  silversides  were 
caught  in  the  Lackawaxen  Creek,  Wayne 
County,  Pa. 

Repeated  but  unsuccessful  attempts  have 
been  made  at  the  United  States  hatchery  of 
East  Orland,  Maine,  and  at  the  Wayne  and 
Bellefonte  hatcheries  in  Pennsylvania,  to  do- 
mesticate Atlantic  salmon  in  numbers  sufficient 
to  establish  breeding-ponds.  Mr.  Atkins,  Su- 


176  FISH  CULTUBE 

perintendent  of  the  East  Orland  station,  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  a  few  from  the  eggs  to  ma- 
turity, and  in  securing  eggs  therefrom.  The 
superintendent  of  the  Bellefonte  hatchery 
reared  six  to  spawning  age.  Unfortunately 
they  were  all  females,  and  each  was  stunted. 
At  the  age  of  four  years  the  largest  was 
scarcely  15  inches  long,  and  at  five  years  they 
had  hardly  added  another  inch  to  their  length. 

The  Pennsylvania  superintendents  found  almost  in- 
superable  difficulties  in  inducing  the  young  fish  to 
take  food.  Nothing  seemed  to  tame  them.  They 
were  so  wild  that  whenever  any  one  approached  the 
pond  they  scattered  in  all  directions  hiding  wherever 
they  could.  The  superintendent  of  the  Bellfonte 
station  was  unable  to  make  them  take  any  food  while 
in  the  fingerling  stage,  excepting  a  half  dozen  which 
afterward  reached  maturity ;  he  achieved  success  with 
these  only  by  placing  them  in  a  pond  containing 
brook-trout  of  the  same  size.  The  superintendent  of 
the  Wayne  station  managed  to  induce  his  first  stock 
of  fingerlings  to  eat  a  small  quantity  of  food  by  hid- 
ing himself  in  a  small  reservoir  at  the  head  of  the 
pond,  and  allowing  food  to  be  carried  to  the  fish  by 
means  of  the  intake  pipe.  A  second  lot  took  food 
more  freely  when  it  was  supplied  by  means  of  an  auto- 
matic feeder,  and  when  with  the  food  a  very  small 


THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON         177 

quantity  of  salt  was  mixed.  Unless  better  success  is 
achieved  in  some  manner  it  seems  certain  that  the 
Atlantic  salmon  is  doomed  in  the  United  States. 

The  eggs  may  be  hatched  in  the  same  manner 
as  those  of  the  brook-trout,  although  the  meshes 
of  the  hatching-trays  must  be  much  larger,  or 
the  trays  replaced  by  wire  baskets. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAKS 

THE  national  and  state  institutions  hatch  in 
glass  jars  the  bulk  of  the  hundreds  of  millions 
of  fish  which  they  plant  every  year.  The  eggs 
of  nearly  all  fresh-water  and  anadromous 
fishes,  excepting  the  trouts  and  salmons,  are  in- 
cubated in  this  manner.  No  discovery  yet 
made  in  fish-culture  has  equalled  that  of  the 
hatching- jar.  It  has  made  possible  fish-culture 
in  such  huge  proportions  that  the  work  to-day 
is  bounded  only  by  the  size  of  the  hatching- 
plants  and  the  amount  of  money  available  to 
secure  eggs;  and  it  has  enabled  national  and 
state  governments  to  take  up  "field  work"  on 
a  scale  commensurate  with  its  importance,  and 
through  it  to  save  and  hatch  the  almost  count- 
less millions  of  eggs  of  ripe  fishes  caught  in 

nets  by  the  commercial  fishermen  which  pre- 
178 


HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAES    179 

viously  were  nearly  all  lost  or  wasted.  It  lias 
also  rendered  possible  the  gathering  and  hatch- 
ing of  eggs  which,  through  their  being  unpro- 
tected after  being  deposited  by  the  parent  fish, 
would  have  been  nearly  all  devoured  by  spawn- 
eaters.  In  some  instances  valuable  kinds  of 
fishes  which  had  become  very  scarce  have  been 
restored  in  such  numbers  as  to  make  their 
catching  a  profitable  industry. 

The  hatching  of  fish  by  the  jar  method  is  at 
present  useful  chiefly  to  governments  for  pub- 
lic work,  or  to  fishing  clubs  that  own  lakes  which 
they  desire  to  stock  very  heavily,  or  for  per- 
sons who  desire  to  hatch  useful  fishes  which 
they  intend  to  sell  as  soon  as  hatched.  There 
are  at  least  five  different  hatching- jars  promi- 
nently in  use  in  the  United  States :  the  Chase, 
McDonald,  Downing  Improved,  Meehan,  and 
Clark.  All  have  their  staunch  supporters,  and 
all  are  effective  egg-workers  and  incubators. 
A  choice  would  depend  upon  local  or  individual 
circumstances  and  intentions. 

Water  for  Jars. — In  projecting  a  site  for  a 
station  for  jar  work  the  water  question  is  as 
important  as  in  hatching  trout,  but  fortunately 


180  FISH  CULTURE 

there  is  a  greater  latitude  of  choice.  The  best 
water  is  that  taken  from  a  natural  lake  having 
no  floating  sediment;  but  that  from  a  stream 
will  answer  admirably,  provided  it  is  unpol- 
luted by  industrial  establishments,  or  is  not 
muddied  by  storms  for  too  long  at  a  time. 
Some  eggs  are  quickly  harmed  by  mud,  while 
others  will  survive  in  turbid  waters  almost 
throughout  the  period  of  incubation.  When 
the  hatchery  is  for  general  work,  it  is  not  ad- 
visable to  use  water  directly  from  a  spring  or 
which  is  piped  directly  from  one.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  fresh  spring  water  may  not  be  harm- 
ful to  the  eggs  of  some  species  of  fish  but  for 
others  it  is  often  sure  death. 

When  the  water  is  introduced  by  gravity, 
there  should  be  enough  at  all  times  in  the  year 
to  fill  a  six-inch  pipe,  unless  only  one  battery 
is  operated.  Under  pressure,  however,  a  four- 
inch  pipe  will  supply  two  batteries  with  seven 
troughs,  each  30  feet  long  and  containing  350 
jars.  A  six-inch  pipe,  under  pressure,  will 
supply  with  a  safe  surplus  three  such  batteries. 
To  bring  the  water  into  the  hatching-house  by 
gravity  is  naturally  very  desirable,  because  it 


HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAES    181 

involves  no  cost  of  maintenance ;  when  a  fall  of 
land  is  not  sufficient  for  this  economical  method, 
power  must  be  brought  into  play.  The  best 
and  cheapest  pumping  machine  is  a  ram.  In 
case  the  instalment  of  a  ram  is  not  feasible,  the 
next  best  means  of  pumping  is  by  a  water- 
wheel.  Failing  this  a  pump  must  be  installed 
with  some  sort  of  a  heat-engine,  unless  city 
water — usually  good  enough — may  be  used. 

For  eggs  which  require  a  long  period  to  eye, 
like  whitefish  or  lake  herring,  or  those  which 
yield  to  fungus  easily,  like  wall-eyed  pike,  uni- 
formly clean  water  is  important.  For  shad 
eggs  it  is  not  of  such  great  concern,  although 
desirable,  and  for  yellow  perch  it  is  a  matter 
of  little  or  no  moment,  except  that  it  makes 
more  work. 

Batteries. — Two  distinct  types  of  batteries 
are  in  operation,  one  very  complicated  in  con- 
struction and  the  other  almost  the  perfection 
of  simplicity. 

The  first  has  both  supply  and  waste  troughs,  one 
system  set  lengthwise  and  the  other  crosswise.  The 
latter  are  arranged  like  a  flight  of  steps,  with  an 
overflow  in  the  centre,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 


182  FISH  CULTURE 

the  operator  to  see  that  a  full  supply  of  water  is  in 
the  battery  and  carrying  the  fry,  when  they  are 
hatched,  to  the  fry-tanks  on  the  floor.  Screens  are 
set  in  the  cross  tanks  so  that  the  fry  must  take  a 
definite  route  to  the  fry  tanks.  The  hatching- jars 
are  fed  from  the  troughs  set  lengthwise  which  are 
fitted  with  ball-cocks  to  regulate  automatically  the 
water-supply  in  the  tubes  and  pipes.  A  battery  of 
this  type  is  very  expensive  to  build,  requires  much 
water  to  operate  it,  and  is  now  rarely  seen. 

The  second  style  of  jar-battery  is  commonly 
called  the  Alpena  pattern,  on  account  of  its  hav- 
ing been  built  first  in  the  United  States  Fish- 
Hatchery  at  Alpena,  Mich. 

The  Alpena  battery  is  so  simple  in  design 
that  any  intelligent  carpenter  can  build  one, 
and  is  also  thoroughly  efficient  and  by  no  means 
costly.  An  Alpena  battery,  with  a  capacity  of 
350  jars  can  be  built  easily  for  $150.  Its  only 
weak  point  is  that  the  egg-shells  and  fry  are 
carried  to  the  fry-tanks  through  the  troughs 
which  supply  the  jars  with  water,  and  may 
sometimes  clog  the  faucets. 

An  Alpena  battery  is  simply  a  number  of 
troughs,  all  but  one  being  14  inches  wide,  12 
inches  deep  and  as  long  as  desired,  set  one 


HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAES    183 

above  the  other  from  the  floor  to  the  eaves  of 
the  hatching-house,  with  a  space  of  5%  inches 
between  each.  The  exceptional  trough  is  six 
inches  deep  instead  of  twelve,  is  placed  upon 
or  near  the  floor,  and  is  used  as  a  hospital. 
The  troughs  are  not  set  on  a  perfect  level,  but 
with  a  slight  slant  so  that  the  water  will  flow 
better.  The  top  trough  slopes  a  trifle  from  the 
inflow-tank  or  supplying  pipe;  the  one  beneath 
slightly  towards  it,  and  so  on  to  the  bottom  or 
hospital  trough. 

There  are  two  outflows;  one  in  the  trough 
immediately  above  the  top  of  the  fry-tanks, 
which  is  placed  at  the  end  of  the  building 
farthest  from  the  supplying  tank  or  pipe;  the 
other  into  the  sewer  from  the  hospital  trough. 
Arms  or  brackets,  made  of  wood  and  shaped 
like  a  flat  dumb-bell  with  very  long  handles,  are 
fastened  at  regular  intervals  across  the  top  of 
each  trough  excepting  the  uppermost  one.  On 
these  brackets  the  jars  are  set  on  each  side  of 
the  battery.  The  water  is  flowed  into  the  jars 
by  means  of  faucets  and  tubes  from  the  trough 
above ;  and  from  them  by  means  of  the  outflow- 
lip  into  the  trough  against  which  they  are  set. 


184  FISH  CULTUEE 

The  water  is  flowed  into  one  end  of  the  top 
trough,  thence  through  those  below  and  the 
jars,  until  it  emerges  into  the  fry-tanks  or  the 
sewer.  Thus  the  water  is  used  over  and  over 
again  not  only  for  the  hatching  of  the  eggs  but 
for  holding  of  the  fry. 

When  brought  into  the  house  the  water  may 
be  run  directly  into  the  top  trough  by  means 
of  a  pipe,  or  first  flowed  into  a  supplying  tank 
or  trough  and  thence  by  pipe  into  the  battery. 
Each  trough  of  the  battery  must  be  of  the  same 
length,  although  the  ends  must  not  line  from 
the  bottom  to  the  top,  but  be  staggered  end- 
wise, the  top  trough  being  short  at  the  end 
farthest  from  the  supply-pipe.  The  purpose 
of  the  staggering  is  to  allow  the  water  to  fall 
from  one  trough  to  the  other.  To  facilitate 
the  fall,  the  top  of  each  end  of  the  trough  is  cut 
for  the  depth  of  an  inch,  to  which  is  set  nearly 
perpendicularly  a  japanned  tin  lip.  The  stag- 
gering need  be  only  just  enough  to  allow  the 
water  to  fall  from  one  trough  to  another  with- 
out spilling  on  the  floor. 

The  troughs  are  held  in  place  by  standards, 
three  inches  by  four,  reaching  from  the  floor 


HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAES    185 

to  the  girders  of  the  building.  To  these  are 
fastened  cross-pieces  on  which  the  troughs  rest. 
One-and-one-eighth-inch  dressed  lumber  is 
proper  for  the  troughs  and  the  ends  may  be 
set  flush  and  not  mortised.  To  facilitate  clean- 
ing, a  two-inch  hole  is  bored  in  the  bottom  of 
each  trough  at  the  projecting  end.  Before 
being  used  the  entire  battery  inside  and  out 
should  be  given  a  good  coat  of  asphaltum. 
When  made  of  lumber,  only  the  finest  quality 
of  white  pine,  cypress,  or  some  similar  type 
of  wood  entirely  free  from  knots,  can  be  used 
safely;  but  a  battery  may  be  made  of  galvan- 
ised iron,  if  it  is  well  asphalted  before  being 
used,  or  of  concrete. 

Ordinarily  when  eggs  handled  in  jars  begin 
to  hatch,  the  proceedings  are  marked  with  great 
expedition  and  the  attendants  are  kept  busy. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  fry  issue  simulta- 
neously ;  hence  it  is  important  to  have  plenty  of 
tank-room  to  receive  them.  I  have  found  the 
most  convenient  fry-tank  to  be  16  feet  long, 
three  feet  wide,  and  four  feet  deep.  With  a 
battery  built  as  outlined,  the  eggs  of  only  one 
species  of  fish  can  be  cared  for  at  a  time ;  but, 


186  FISH  CULTURE 

by  the  addition  of  a  simple  device  in  the  shape 
of  a  trough  of  tin  or  zinc,  about  the  width  of  a 
rainwater  gutter,  set  in  the  trough  at  one  side 
and  connecting  the  ends,  two  species  can  be 
handled  at  one  battery  simultaneously  and  the 
fry  kept  separate.  By  this  means  the  water 
from  all  the  jars  on  one  side  of  the  battery 
above  the  fry-tanks  flows  into  the  gutter  in- 
stead of  into  the  trough  itself.  The  tin  trough 
will  also  be  found  very  convenient  when  two 
or  more  fishes  spawn  at  the  same  time.  It 
would  be  advisable  when  building  the  battery 
to  provide  for  the  possible  contingency  of  hatch- 
ing two  species  of  fish  at  the  same  time,  by 
dividing  each  trough  lengthwise  by  a  partition, 
giving  each  an  outflow-lip. 

Suitable  Buildings. — A  building  60  feet  long 
and  32  feet  wide,  will  furnish  room  for  three 
batteries  with  an  aggregate  capacity  of  1050 
jars,  and  six  fry-tanks.  Occasionally  there 
may  yet  be  found  a  hatching-house  for  jar-work 
in  which  the  table  system,  with  closed  McDon- 
ald jars,  is  still  in  vogue  for  temporary  serv- 
ices, but  this  method  of  hatching  fish  is  rapidly 
passing  away.  The  battery  marks  as  great  an 


HATCHING  FISHES'  EGGS  IN  JAES   187 

advance  over  the  table  system,  as  the  jar  over 
the  old  floating-box.  It  enables  at  least  a  five- 
fold increase  in  the  annual  output  of  fry,  with 
the  additional  advantage  that  it  requires  no 
more  water.  For  example,  a  building  holding 
two  tables  with  a  total  capacity  of  120  jars 
would  allow  the  setting  up  of  two  batteries  of 
the  Alpena  pattern,  holding  altogether  550  jars 
and  exactly  the  same  amount  of  water.  The 
table  is  about  3%  feet  from  the  floor,  about  five 
feet  wide,  with  a  tank  about  eight  inches  deep 
set  in  the  centre,  the  whole  length,  and  having 
an  outflow-pipe  at  one  end  into  the  fry-tanks. 
The  jars  are  arranged  in  rows  along  the  line 
of  the  tank  with  a  long  rubber  hose  leading 
therein  from  the  outflow  or  siphon  tube.  The 
water-supply  is  received  through  a  two-inch 
pipe  suspended  about  three  feet  above  the 
table  and  tapped  every  six  inches  by  quarter- 
inch  pet-cocks.  The  pet-cocks  and  the  intake 
glass  tubes  of  the  jar  are  connected  by  means 
of  rubber  hose. 


CHAPTEE  XIV 
CULTUKE  OF  YELLOW  PERCH 

FOB  several  years  there  has  been  a  steadily 
increasing  demand  for  yellow  perch,  which  is 
now  regarded  as  one  of  the  staple  market 
fishes,  as  its  flesh  is  not  only  very  palatable  but 
firm  and  flaky  in  character.  This  fact,  to- 
gether with  rather  a  tough  skin,  and  heavy, 
tenaciously  clinging  scales,  makes  it  good  to 
keep  and  ship. 

A  number  of  years  ago  the  United  States  Fish 
Commission  demonstrated  the  fact  that  yellow- 
perch  eggs  could  be  artificially  hatched,  but  it 
was  in  Pennsylvania  that  the  work  was  first 
begun  on  a  large  scale.  Eggs  may  be  taken 
from  the  female  with  almost  the  same  ease  as 
from  trout,  and  the  milt  will  flow  from  the  male 
at  the  slightest  pressure  of  the  finger;  but  ex- 
perience shows  that  artificial  expression  and 

188 


CULTUEE  OF  YELLOW  PERCH   189 

impregnation  is  not  as  satisfactory  in  results 
as  raising  eggs  naturally  deposited  and  fer- 
tilised. Ordinarily  a  larger  percentage  of  eggs 
can  be  fertilised  by  artificial  impregnation  than 
by  natural,  but  this  has  not  proven  so  in  this 
case. 

Care  of  the  Fish. — Yellow  perch  can  be  re- 
tained and  cared  for  in  hatchery-ponds  as  easily 
and  numerously  as  brook-trout.  For  food  they 
take  very  kindly  to  cut  lungs  and  liver,  and  will 
not  even  disdain  bread.  They  require  less 
artificial  food  than  trout  because  there  is  for 
them  a  wider  range  of  natural  food.  While 
yellow  perch  may  be  retained  successfully  in 
ponds  of  almost  any  size,  they  thrive  better  in 
those  of  large  area,  and  should  have  ponds  as 
large  as  those  provided  for  the  black  bass. 

It  is  no  trouble  whatever  to  induce  yellow 
perch  to  take  artificial  food  during  the  spring, 
summer  and  early  autumn ;  but  after  they  have 
gone  into  the  kettle  in  the  late  autumn  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  feed  them  successfully.  Yet  they 
must  be  induced  to  eat  it,  because  hatchery- 
ponds  contain  a  minimum  amount  of  natural 
food,  and  otherwise  on  the  arrival  of  spring 


190  FISH  CULTUKE 

they  will  not  have  the  proper  vitality  to  prop- 
erly perform  the  function  of  spawning.  An 
apparatus  has  been  devised  by  means  of  which 
it  is  possible  for  the  fish  to  feed  as  successfully 
and  certainly  when  the  pond  is  covered  with  ice 
as  in  the  summer.  It  is  a  basket  about  one 
foot  square,  made  of  quarter-inch  wire  netting, 
which  is  filled  with  cut  liver  and  lowered 
through  a  hole  in  the  ice  until  it  is  about  one 
foot  above  the  bottom  of  the  kettle,  sustained 
by  two  wire  hangers  wrapped  around  strips  of 
wood  laid  across  the  hole.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  perch  discover  the  basket  and  attack  the 
food  eagerly,  devouring  it  all  in  a  very  little 
while. 

It  is  important  that  ponds  for  yellow  perch 
have  natural  sides,  and  that  they  shoal  to  a 
general  depth  of  not  more  than  two  feet,  with 
not  less  than  one  foot  at  the  sides,  with  a  kettle 
at  the  outlet  deep  enough  to  permit  the  fish  to 
hibernate  safely.  Water  lilies  for  shade  and 
shelter  are  important,  but  the  grasses  are  un- 
desirable on  account  of  their  unsightly  appear- 
ance. In  natural  waters  grasses  are  almost  a 
necessity,  as  they  form  excellent  means  of  at- 


CULTUKE  OF  YELLOW  PEECH  191 

tachment  for  the  strings  of  eggs ;  but  they  are 
not  needed  in  hatchery-ponds  for  yellow  perch 
because  equally  good  if  not  better  material  for 
holding  spawn  can  be  provided.  Brush  fas- 
tened to  the  banks  around  the  sides  is  gener- 
ally used. 

Spawning  Habits. — Considering  the  average 
small  size  of  the  yellow  perch,  the  number  of 
eggs  which  a  female  will  deposit  is  prodigious, 
and  the  length  of  the  fertilised  string  is  truly 
marvellous.  A  medium-sized  female  will  give 
from  30,000  to  50,000  eggs,  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  one  at  her  best  will  furnish  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand.  Each  string  is  in- 
variably several  times  longer  than  the  fish 
which  deposited  it,  and  after  fertilisation  and 
hardening  is  usually  more  than  double  the 
weight.  It  is  possible  for  a  fish  18  to  20  inches 
long,  perhaps  smaller,  and  less  than  two  pounds 
in  weight,  to  deposit  a  string  of  eggs  over  seven 
feet  in  length,  which  will  weigh  nearly  or  quite 
three  pounds,  and  will  almost  fill  a  four-quart 
measure.  The  eggs  are  held  together  by  a 
jelly-like  substance,  and  the  ribbon-like  string 
appears  to  be  crumpled,  so  that  the  eggs  dotted 


192  FISH  CULTURE 

thickly  along  it  give  the  whole  the  appearance 
of  a  piece  of  yellowish  white,  accordion-plaited, 
lace.  The  string  is  round  and  consists  of  a 
series  of  concave  disks  fastened  at  the  centre 
by  a  thin  gelatinous  material,  so  that  it  much 
resembles  a  string  of  winkle  eggs. 

The  spawning  period  of  a  perch  varies  from 
February  to  May,  depending  on  the  locality  and 
temperature  of  the  water.  In  the  lakes  of 
north-eastern  Pennsylvania  the  period  begins 
about  the  latter  part  of  April  and  in  the  lower 
Delaware  between  the  first  and  fifth  of  that 
month.  The  eggs  seem  to  be  deposited  most 
abundantly  when  the  water  is  between  52  and 
54°  F.  About  two  weeks  before  the  spawning 
period  in  the  hatchery,  thick  brush  is  set  firmly 
all  around  the  edges  of  the  ponds,  so  placed 
that  the  brush  is  completely  submerged.  Each 
piece  should  be  from  four  to  six  feet  long  and 
the  more  numerous  the  branches  the  better. 
No  part  of  the  pond  must  be  neglected,  because 
the  yellow  perch  is  capricious  and  what  would 
be  the  spawning-spot  one  year  might  not  be 
the  next.  The  first  egg  will  most  certainly  be 
hung  on  the  brush  in  the  warmest  water. 


CULTURE  OF  YELLOW  PEBCH  193 

Spawn  is  deposited  most  abundantly  a  little 
before  daylight,  but  as  the  season  advances  fish 
will  be  found  at  work  at  all  hours.  The  strings 
of  eggs  are  laid  among  the  branches  of  the 
brush,  usually  one  or  two  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, and  occasionally  underneath  them,  on  the 
bottom  of  the  pond.  They  are  found  very  fre- 
quently on  the  surface,  or  so  near  to  it  that  a 
portion  of  the  string  is  not  submerged  and 
dies. 

Gathering  the  Eggs. — After  spawning  begins 
the  pond  is  to  be  visited  every  morning  and 
the  strings  removed,  either  with  the  hand  or 
by  a  small,  shallow  scap-net.  The  strings,  as 
gathered,  are  put  in  a  bucket  containing  about  a 
quart  of  water.  When  the  bucket  is  full,  or  the 
work  done,  the  eggs  are  taken  to  the  hatchery 
and  placed  in  the  jars  for  incubation. 

If  the  eggs  are  gathered  from  ponds  where 
naturally  deposited  by  wild  fish,  in  addition  to 
the  bucket  and  egg-nets  a  boat,  an  egg-stick, 
and  floating-boxes,  are  needed.  The  egg-stick 
is  simply  a  small  wand  cut  from  a  bush,  and 
at  its  tip  must  be  left  the  stumps  of  a  couple 
of  branches,  so  as  to  form  a  very  small  fork. 


194  FISH  CULTUEE 

The  floating-box  should  be  about  six  feet  long, 
one  foot  deep  and  three  feet  wide,  with  bot- 
tom and  ends  of  wire  mesh,  about  sixteen  wires 
to  the  inch.  A  long  piece  of  scantling  is  nailed 
to  each  side  of  the  box  at  the  top,  so  as  to  main- 
tain a  balance  and  make  it  float  more  buoyantly. 
This  box  is  anchored  in  the  lake  in  about  ten 
feet  of  water. 

There  should  be  at  least  two  spawn-gatherers 
in  the  field,  and  as  each  man's  pail  is  filled  the 
eggs  are  emptied  into  the  floating-boxes  where 
they  remain  two  or  three  days,  if  not  too  far 
advanced  towards  incubation.  They  may  be 
carried  to  the  hatchery  in  the  ordinary  egg- 
cases,  or  in  shipping-cans.  The  cans  should 
first  be  half  filled  with  water,  and  not  more 
than  ten  or  twelve  quarts  of  eggs  placed  in  any 
one  of  them  unless  for  a  very  short  distance, 
say  ten  or  twelve  miles;  even  then  the  number 
ought  not  to  exceed  15  quarts,  as  more  is  likely 
to  result  in  many  of  the  eggs  being  smothered. 

There  is  nothing  in  fish-culture  so  easy  to  handle 
as  yellow-perch  eggs.  Almost  any  ordinary  bright 
young  man  who  has  been  working  in  a  hatching-house 
a  few  weeks  can  care  for  the  eggs  during  the  entire 


CULTURE  OF  YELLOW  PERCH   195 

period  of  incubation.  There  are  no  eggs  which  will 
stand  as  much  rough  handling.  If  they  become  cov- 
ered with  mud  they  may  safely  be  taken  from  the  jars 
and  washed  in  tubs  of  water.  If  any  portion  of  the 
string  should  die  it  may  be  cut  or  broken  away  with- 
out any  harm  whatever  to  the  parts  which  are  alive. 
The  one  feature  of  first  importance  is  constant  at- 
tention day  and  night.  The  jars  may  be  nearly  filled 
with  eggs,  and  although  they  seem  to  be  resting  in 
a  heavy  mass  there  need  be  no  apprehension  of 
smothering.  Only  a  very  slight  flow  of  water  is  re- 
quired, but  little  more  in  fact  than  is  needed  to  fill 
the  tubes,  preventing  air  becoming  mixed  with  it, 
and  to  flutter  or  oscillate  slightly  the  mass. 

As  the  eggs  are  semibuoyant,  and  at  times 
actually  buoyant  just  before  hatching,  it  is  im- 
portant that  a  screen  of  mosquito-wire  be  set 
completely  around  the  inside  of  the  top  of  the 
jar.  The  change  from  semibuoyancy  to  buoy- 
ancy is  very  sudden,  and  occurs  usually  just  as 
the  eggs  are  beginning  to  eye.  At  this  period 
the  gelatinous  material,  which  is  tough  and 
strong  when  the  eggs  are  first  deposited, 
softens,  or  as  it  is  termed  "rots,"  the  string 
breaking  into  pieces  and  rising  to  the  surface. 
Were  it  not  for  the  screen  described  above,  the 


196  FISH  CULTURE 

eggs  would  flow  over  the  top  of  the  jar  to  the 
floor.  A  mass  of  eggs  will  sometimes  rise  for 
more  than  an  inch  above  the  top  of  the  jar.  It 
is  chiefly  on  account  of  this  proclivity,  nay  cer- 
tainty, of  the  eggs  to  rise  that  it  is  necessary  to 
have  some  one  in  attendance  both  day  and 
night.  Another  reason  for  constant  supervi- 
sion is  the  necessity  for  closely  watching  the 
water-flow;  as,  owing  to  the  small  quantity 
used,  any  slight  obstruction  in  the  faucet  will 
completely  stop  it.  Sometimes,  owing  to 
changes  in  the  specific  gravity  of  the  eggs,  the 
flow  must  be  increased  or  diminished.  It  often 
happens  that  during  the  period  of  incubation 
every  faucet  in  a  hatchery  will  have  to  be 
changed  within  twelve  hours.  When  a  rise  in 
perch  eggs  occurs,  the  attendant  must  stop  the 
flow  of  water  immediately,  and  with  his  hand 
or  a  feather  gently  push  the  mass  to  the  bot- 
tom, where,  after  about  five  minutes,  the  eggs 
will  settle  quietly.  Then  the  water  can  be 
turned  on  again  slowly  and  cautiously.  It  may 
be  half  an  hour  or  more  before  a  rise  will  oc- 
cur again,  if  at  all. 


CULTUEE  OF  YELLOW  PEECH  197 

The  average  spawning-period  of  the  yellow 
perch  is  from  twelve  to  fifteen  days,  although, 
as  with  the  eggs  of  all  other  fish,  the  time  may 
be  shortened  or  lengthened  according  to  the 
rising  or  lowering  of  the  temperature  of  the 
water. 

Yellow-perch  Fry. — Newly  hatched  yellow 
perch  are  minute  and  almost  colourless,  and  can 
scarcely  be  seen  in  the  water.  Their  yolk-sac 
is  not  heavy,  so  that  they  swim  freely  almost 
from  the  moment  they  emerge  from  the  egg. 
On  account  of  the  tiny  size  of  the  newly  hatched 
fry  the  out-flow  of  the  tank  into  which  they  are 
carried  from  the  battery  must  be  screened  with 
some  very  finely  meshed  material,  as  copper- 
gauze  wire  or  cheese-cloth. 

The  absorption  of  the  yolk-sac  and  early 
growth  of  the  yellow  perch  are  very  rapid,  and 
by  the  end  of  a  month  the  fry  will  be  a  sturdy 
youngster  nearly  an  inch  long  and  schooling 
with  thousands  of  his  kind  in  shoal  water ;  and 
by  the  end  of  the  year  under  favourable  con- 
ditions he  will  be  four  or  five  inches  long. 
After  that  the  growth,  as  with  most  other 


198  FISH  CULTURE 

fishes,  is  much  slower,  nature  devoting  herself 
to  giving  the  fish  girth  and  weight  rather  than 
length. 

Death  is  always  busy  among  young  fish 
hatched  in  huge  quantities  from  the  eggs  of  a 
single  parent.  Loss  from  other  causes  than 
death  is  also  great  among  minute  fry,  in  the 
majority  of  cases  at  least  90  per  cent.  This 
would  be  appalling  and  discouraging,  were  not 
the  spawn  furnished  by  the  female  yellow  perch 
almost  limitless  in  amount.  A  string  of  50,000 
eggs  will  yield  after  all  losses  about  5,000  fish 
a  year  old,  probably  three  times  the  yield  in 
nature.  A  single  hatching-jar  would  hold  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  600,000  eggs,  so  that  one 
jar  alone  would  yield  about  60,000  yearlings. 

Owing  to  the  great  loss  during  the  first  few 
weeks  after  hatching,  it  is  necessary  to  stock 
very  heavily  a  pond  intended  for  rearing  pur- 
poses. The  amount  of  yellow-perch  fry  intro- 
duced should  be  at  least  sixty  or  seventy  times 
the  number  of  yearlings  which  it  would  com- 
fortably carry.  This  is  an  important  point  be- 
cause it  is  not  necessary  to  do  any  sorting  the 
first  year.  Although  a  carnivorous  fish,  the 


CULTURE  OF  YELLOW  PERCH  199 

growth  is  more  nearly  even  in  yellow  perch  than 
in  its  distant  relative  the  black  bass,  and  the 
loss  from  cannibalism  is  therefore  not  as  great. 


CHAPTEE  XV 

BEARING    PICKEEEL    AND    MUSOAL- 
LONGE 

THE  pike  family  is  represented  in  Europe, 
Asia  and  America,  and  the  species  vary  in 
weight  at  maturity  from  half  a  pound  to  nearly 
150  pounds.  The  heaviest  American  species 
are  called  muscallonge* ;  certain  other  members 
are  called  pike,  and  others  pickerel.  The  word 
"pickerel"  means  little  pike,  and  North  Amer- 
ica possesses  two  or  three  species,  one  of  which 
is  the  "chain  pickerel,"  a  favourite  food  and 
game  fish,  distinguished  by  the  chain-like  re- 
ticulations of  colour  which  cover  the  sides  of 
its  body.  All  the  other  pickerels  and  pikes 
have  bands  or  bars. 

The  pikes  prefer  large  bodies  of  water  or 
deep  and  very  sluggish  streams  having  many 

*The  spelling  of  this  Indian  word  is  not  generally  agreed 
upon.    The  Standard  Dictionary  prefers  maskinonge. 

200 


PICKEEEL  AND  MTJSCALLONGE     201 

submerged  logs,  stumps,  and  aquatic  plants. 
Among  the&e,  the  pike,  solitary  in  its  habits, 
rests  perfectly  motionless,  waiting  for  the  com- 
ing of  its  prey.  When  within  a  few  feet,  the 
pike,  galvanised  into  life,  darts  forth  with 
lightning-like  rapidity,  seizes  its  victim  and 
returns  to  its  lair.  There,  often,  it  will  play 
with  its  captive  as  a  cat  does  with  a  mouse,  and 
wait  some  time  before  swallowing  it. 

Some  anglers  regard  the  pickerel  as  a  high- 
class  game-fish.  Others  place  it  on  a  very  much 
lower  level.  In  food-quality  the  chain  pickerel, 
despite  the  many  small  sharp  bones  in  its  chest, 
holds  a  very  respectable  place  in  the  market, 
and  meets  with  ready  sale.  The  flesh  of  the 
muscallonge  ranks  high,  and  both  it  and  the 
chain  pickerel  deserve  greater  attention  than 
they  receive  from  fish-culturists.  New  York 
State  alone  propagates  the  muscallonge,  but  no 
public  hatchery  exists  for  pickerel,  yet  its  prop- 
agation is  very  easy. 

Propagation  of  Pickerel. — Eggs  may  be 
pressed  from  the  female  without  any  trouble 
whatever;  the  eggs  however,  are  glutinous,  and 
have  to  be  thoroughly  rubbed  and  cleaned  after 


202  FISH  CULTURE 

fertilising,  and  before  being  placed  in  the  hatch- 
ing-jars, where  the  treatment  should  be  the 
same  as  that  for  whitefish  or  shad.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  gather  eggs  of  the  pickerel  naturally 
deposited,  but  it  is  better  to  keep  the  fish  in 
captivity  and  take  the  eggs  from  them  by  ex- 
pression. A  pond  of  three-fourths  of  an  acre 
or  an  acre  will  contain  many  hundreds  of 
pickerel  in  good  health  and  condition  if  they  are 
liberally  fed  with  live  food,  for  the  pickerel  will 
take  only  a  moving  life-like  object. 

Spawning  begins  very  early  in  the  year,  soon 
after  the  ice  disappears ;  but  the  spawning  sea- 
son is  very  short,  and  the  hatching  period  is 
about  two  weeks.  As  the  pickerel  is  strongly 
a  carnivorous  fish,  it  is  important  that  the  fry 
be  not  placed  in  the  same  ponds  with  mature 
specimens,  but  kept  in  smaller  ponds,  as  would 
be  done  with  any  other  carnivorous  species. 
Growth  is  very  rapid,  and  cannibalism,  even 
among  the  young,  strongly  developed,  hence 
persons  desiring  to  rear  their  stock  to  maturity 
must  expect  heavy  loss  from  this  quarter. 

Among  the  members  of  the  pike  family  are 
four  which  attain  large  proportions  and  weight. 


PICKEREL  AND  MUSCALLONGE     203 

The  nmscallonge  (Esox  masquinongy)  is  the 
largest  of  these,  and  attains  a  length  of  eight 
feet  and  sometimes  a  weight  of  more  than  100 
pounds.  Its  habitat  is  the  Great  Lakes,  the 
upper  St.  Lawrence  Eiver  and  Canada.  A 
second  species  (Esox  lucius)  is  a  native  of  New 
York  State  and  the  Ohio  Eiver  basin  northward. 
a  Third  (Esox  immaculatus)  is  rarely  met  ex- 
cept in  the  lakes  of  northern  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota.  A  fourth  species  is  Esox  ohiensis, 
most  abundant  in  Chautauqua  Lake,  New  York, 
because  persistently  propagated  there.  The 
three  last  named  each  reach  a  weight  of  from 
40  to  50  pounds  and  a  length  of  four  or  five 
feet.  All  rank  high  as  game  fishes  and  the  flesh 
of  each  is  greatly  esteemed. 

The  fishery  authorities  of  New  York  State 
were  the  first  to  undertake  to  propagate  mus- 
callonge  artificially,  which  began  at  Chautauqua 
Lake  in  1888,  under  the  care  of  E.  W.  Irwin  and 
Jonathan  Mason;  but  very  primitive  methods 
were  pursued  until  superseded  a  few  years 
ago  by  the  hatching-jar. 

Cultivating  Muscallonge. — For  tHe  greater 
part  of  the  year  the  muscallonge  lives  in  deep 


204  FISH  CUT/TUBE 

water,  usually  in  the  vicinity  of  aquatic  plants. 
As  soon  as  the  ice  leaves  the  lake  in  the  spring 
the  fish  make  ready  for  spawning  and  by  the 
latter  part  of  April  this  function  is  concluded. 
The  eggs  are  deposited  in  water  usually  less 
than  10  feet  deep,  and  sometimes  as  shallow  as 
six  feet,  preferably  in  muddy  bays.  The  males 
are  usually  smaller  than  females  of  the  same 
age,  and  very  little  milt  suffices  to  fertilise  a 
large  number  of  eggs.  The  species  is  very 
prolific.  A  fish  weighing  35  pounds  will  yield 
265,000  eggs,  each  about  an  eleventh  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  74,000  filling  a  quart-measure. 

Muscallonge  eggs  are  separate,  nonadhesive, 
and  semibuoyant,  and  under  favourable  cir- 
cumstances 97  per  cent,  have  been  hatched.  At 
55  °F.  they  will  hatch  in  15  days ;  and  the  yolk 
sac  is  absorbed  in  about  15  days  more.  When 
first  hatched  the  fry  is  so  heavy  that  it  is  un- 
able to  swim  from  the  jars  into  the  battery 
trough.  The  eggs,  therefore,  should  be  trans- 
ferred, when  the  fry  are  about  ready  to  emerge 
from  the  shell,  to  trays  set  in  boxes  placed  in 
the  troughs.  The  boxes  are  fitted  with  wire 
at  each  end  to  insure  a  direct  and  uninterrupted 


PICKEEEL  AND  MUSCALLONGE     205 

flow  of  water,  and  to  prevent  the  banking  of 
the  fry  at  the  lower  end. 

When  in  a  wild  state  the  black  bass  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  greatest  cannibals  that  swims 
in  fresh  water;  but  in  confinement  it  cannot 
match  the  cannibalism  of  young  muscallonge. 
A  few  years  ago  the  superintendent  of  the 
Cony,  Pa.,  hatchery  placed  5000  fry  in  a 
pond  about  fifty  by  twenty  feet,  and  at  the 
end  of  three  months  there  was  one  muscallonge 
left,  and  that  was  eaten  by  a  water-bird.  It  is 
therefore  essential  to  plant  the  young  fish  be- 
fore, or  as  soon  as,  the  yolk-sac  has  been  ab- 
sorbed. 

Gloves  are  used  in  taking  the  eggs  of  the 
muscallonge  so  that  the  fish  can  be  held  more 
firmly  and  be  less  liable  to  injury;  sometimes 
two  men  are  necessary  to  hold  a  large  fish  and 
express  the  eggs  and  milt.  Muscallonge  eggs 
may  be  hatched  on  trays  the  same  as  trout,  in 
water  with  a  temperature  of  46°  F. ;  the  incuba- 
tion period  is  sixty  days. 

The  culture  of  pickerel  and  muscallonge  pre- 
sents no  difficulties  when  the  eggs  can  be  ob- 
tained from  wild  fish,  and  there  is  no  difficulty 


206  FISH  CULTUEE 

in  retaining  the  brood-fish  in  hatching-ponds, 
where  they  will  live  safely  for  an  indefinite 
period  provided  the  ponds  are  large  and  deep 
enough.  I  have  kept  several  of  the  Chautauqua 
Lake  nmscallonge  for  more  than  a  year  in  a 
pond  100  feet  long  and  30  feet  wide,  with  a 
water-depth  of  from  three  to  five  feet.  These 
fish  ripened  both  eggs  and  milt. 


CHAPTEE  XVI 

WHITE  PERCH,  STRIPED  BASS, 
SMELTS  AND  SUCKERS 

STRIPED  bass  and  white  perch  represent  two 
extremes  of  size  and  weight  in  the  family  to 
which  they  belong;  the  first  is  a  fierce  and 
powerful  fish,  the  second  is  no  larger  than  some 
minnows,  and  quiet  and  unobtrusive.  Widely 
separated  as  they  are  in  regard  to  size,  char- 
acter and  habits,  they  are  held  in  equally  high 
esteem  as  game  and  food.  In  the  fury  and 
vigour  of  its  rushes  when  hooked,  the  first  re- 
sembles the  black  bass;  the  second  the  brook- 
trout,  in  its  dainty,  delicate  struggles.  In  many 
places  the  striped  bass  and  white  perch  are 
diminishing  in  numbers,  and  both  have  given 
the  fish-culturist  some  trouble  in  their  propaga- 
tion. 

A  failure  on  the  part  of  some  states  to  give  the 
striped  bass  proper  protection  when  entering  the 

207 


206  FISH  CULTUEE 

rivers  to  spawn,  particularly  the  " mammy  rock/'  or 
striped  bass  of  20  pounds  or  over,  is  responsible  for 
much  of  the  diminishing  supply.  Loose  methods  of 
fishing  have  had  something  to  do  with  lessening  the 
number  of  white  perch  in  many  places,  but  as  great 
a  factor  is  the  unsuspicious  character  of  the  fish.  Like 
its  cousin,  the  yellow  perch,  it  is  greedy.  All  the 
members  of  a  school  will  continue  to  bite  at  the 
baited  hook  during  the  entire  feeding  period,  un- 
afraid, and  regardless  of  the  disappearance  of  their 
companions.  Hence,  although  the  white  perch  is  a 
prolific  breeder,  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  deplete 
waters  in  which  they  should  be  abundant.  . 

Compared  to  the  numbers  which  were  there  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  ago,  white  perch  are  scarce  in  the 
Delaware  River  to-day,  and  they  are  also  decreasing 
in  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  There  are  signs  of  improve- 
ment in  the  latter  waters  through  the  artificial  propa- 
gation conducted  by  the  national  government,  and, 
for  a  short  period,  by  Maryland.  This  good  work 
has  been  hampered  in  the  Delaware  River  by  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  ripe  fish  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
make  it  worth  while  to  operate  a  hatchery  during  the 
spawning  season. 

White  Perch. — White  perch  ripen  about 
April.  Spawn-takers  in  the  Chesapeake  strip 
the  fish,  caught  in  nets  for  the  market,  by  the 
dry  method.  When  first  taken  the  eggs  aver- 


WHITE  PEECH,  SMELTS,  ETC.     209 

age  29  to  the  linear  inch,  and  after  they  have 
been  water-hardened  the  number  is  only  de- 
creased by  one ;  they  are  among  the  very  small- 
est known,  a  quart  containing  about  1,600,000. 
White-perch  eggs  are  very  adhesive,  and  when 
stripped  into  an  ordinary  tin  pan  are  extremely 
difficult  to  handle;  therefore  porcelain-lined 
pans  should  be  used,  and  the  eggs  stirred  con- 
stantly with  the  tail  of  the  fish  while  the  milt  is 
being  applied.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  chances 
are  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  eggs  will  fail 
to  fertilise. 

After  the  eggs  have  been  fertilised,  washed, 
and  hardened,  they  are  placed  in  jars  at  a  bat- 
tery, and  cared  for  the  same  as  shad's  eggs. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  white-perch  eggs  is  that 
while  yet  undeveloped  they  are  white  and  hard, 
almost  opaque,  so  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  distinguish  good  eggs  from  bad.  It  is  there- 
fore unsafe,  until  after  the  eyes  have  developed, 
to  clean  up  any  portion  of  a  jar  or  throw  away 
its  contents  excepting  where  there  are  signs  of 
fungus,  as  it  is  not  unusual  for  a  large  per- 
centage of  eggs,  all  presumably  bad,  to  sud- 
denly eye  and  hatch.  Fortunately  for  the 


210  FISH  CULTURE 

nerves  of  the  culturist,  the  days  of  suspense  are 
not  long.  When  the  water  temperature  is 
about  60  degrees,  the  eggs  will  hatch  in  from 
48  to  52  hours.  If  the  temperature  is  from  68 
to  70  degrees,  the  little  fish  will  emerge  from 
the  shell  in  about  twenty-four  hours  in  the  Mc- 
Donald closed-top  jars,  after  they  have  been 
held  from  six  to  twelve  hours  in  jars  without 
tops  or  caps. 

Every  one  who  has  had  experience  in  hatch- 
ing pike-perch  dreads  the  deadly  fungus  during 
the  period  of  incubation,  and  those  who  have  the 
care  of  white-perch  eggs  declare  that  they  are 
equally  liable  to  be  similarly  attacked.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  this  should  be  the  case,  be- 
cause of  their  adhesive  character,  together  with 
the  higher  water  temperatures,  both  of  which 
are  favourable  to  the  appearance  and  spread  of 
fungus.  On  this  account  it  is  advisable  to  carry 
only  a  small  quantity  in  each  jar. 

Striped  Bass. — Personally  I  have  no  expe- 
rience in  the  propagation  of  striped  bass.  The 
United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  been  ex- 
perimenting with  the  problem  for  some  years, 
and  in  1904  Mr.  S.  G.  Worth,  one  of  its  superin- 


WHITE  PEECH,  SMELTS,  ETC.     211 

tendents,  presented  a  paper  on  the  subject  to 
the  American  Fisheries  Society  of  which  the 
following  is  a  synopsis : 

The  operations  were  conducted  at  Weldon,  North 
Carolina,  and  occupied  twenty-three  days,  beginning 
with  May  2nd.  The  water  temperature  of  the  river 
ranged  from  60  to  70  degrees.  The  smallest  ripe  fish 
weighed  three  pounds  and  the  largest  50  pounds.  The 
smallest  fish  gave  14,000  eggs,  the  largest  3,220,000, 
green  in  colour  when  fresh.  Jars  were  used  in  hatch- 
ing; but  a  number  of  floating  boxes  were  needed  in 
addition,  since  the  eggs  of  one  fish  weighing  50  pounds 
would  fill  over  300  jars.  Fully  69  per  cent,  was 
hatched.  When  the  fry  were  about  four  hours  old 
they  were  approximately  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch 
long,  and  at  four  days  they  averaged  one-fourth  of 
an  inch  in  length ;  at  four  weeks  they  had  reached  a 
length  of  nearly  half  an  inch  with  the  fins  easily  dis- 
cernible, and  on  close  inspection  the  stripes  on  the 
sides  were  visible.  With  the  water  temperature  be- 
tween 60  and  70  degrees,  the  eggs  hatch  quickly.  The 
period  of  incubation  is  only  about  four  days. 

Since  the  publication  of  his  paper  Mr.  Worth 
has  made  a  number  of  additional  reports  to  the 
Bureau  of  Fisheries,  in  whose  publications  they 
may  be  consulted  by  any  one  interested.  The 
special  weakness  of  the  earlier  work,  the  hatch- 


212  FISH  CULTURE 

ing  of  the  eggs  was  corrected  in  the  following 
manner,  quoting  Mr.  Worth's  account: 

"A  better  per  cent,  in  hatching  could  have  been 
gained  by  the  earlier  adoption  of  the  pitcher-mouthed 
tops  of  the  Universal  hatching-jars,  which  were  ex- 
perimented with,  for  the  first  time,  during  the  season 
covered  by  this  report.  I  had  already  been  aware 
that  losses  of  fry,  already  hatched  and  delivered  into 
aquaria,  were  excessively  large  at  times,  and  I  am  of 
the  fixed  opinion  that  the  cause  was  to  be  found  in 
having  the  fry  struggle  through  outlet  tubes  of  the 
Universal  jar.  .  .  It  is  necessary  to  supply  an  auxiliary 
of  canvas  to  the  lipped  jar-top,  in  order  to  let  the 
fish  down  gradually  into  the  aquarium.  Hatched  and 
handled  in  this  way,  the  results  are  all  that  could  be 
desired,  for  every  good  egg  developed  and  all  the  fry 
lived.  It  would  be  a  waste  of  time  and  material  to 
undertake  the  hatching  of  striped  bass  in  the  Mc- 
Donald tidal  box,  as  the  separation  of  bad  and  good 
eggs  would  be  impracticable,  and  there  is  a  percent- 
age of  bad  eggs  in  every  lot." 

The  Smelt. — Like  the  striped  bass,  the  smelt 
is  an  anadromous  fish,  entering  fresh  water 
from  the  sea  early  in  the  spring  for  reproduc- 
tive purposes.  It  prefers  rapidly  running 
streams  with  stony  or  gravelly  bottoms,  on 
which  the  female  deposits  in  vast  quantities 


WHITE  PEECH,  SMELTS,  ETC.     213 

eggs  so  adhesive  that  they  form  a  thick  mat. 
They  become  so  firmly  attached  to  the  bottom 
and  to  each  other  that  it  is  difficult  to  remove 
them  without  damaging  a  great  quantity  and 
taking  along  stones  and  gravel.  The  fish  en- 
ter the  streams  in  such  crowds  that  I  have  seen 
bottoms  thickly  covered  by  eggs  almost  from 
shore  to  shore,  and  for  a  distance  of  over  100 
yards. 

New  York  was  the  first  state  to  undertake  the 
propagation  of  the  smelt,  and  its  fishery  au- 
thorities hatched  from  50,000,000  to  100,000,000 
annually.  The  smelts  are  caught  in  nets  and 
transported  to  troughs  on  the  hatchery  grounds 
similar  in  construction  to  a  trout-hatching 
trough,  but  without  gravel  of  any  kind.  About 
eight  inches  of  water  is  flowed  through  them, 
and  the  apparatus  is  kept  covered  by  boards. 
Smelts  do  not  seem  to  mind  their  capture  and 
yield  their  spawn  freely.  The  eggs  are  so 
minute  that  it  requires  nearly  500,000  to  fill  a 
quart-measure. 

Every  morning,  the  hatchery  men  shovel 
the  eggs  from  the  troughs  into  buckets  partly 
filled  with  water.  The  thick  masses  of  eggs  are 


214:  FISH  CULTUEE 

then  sieved  through  wire  trays  of  very  fine 
mesh,  care  being  taken  that  the  work  is  done  in 
the  gloom  of  the  hatching-house.  The  screen  is 
held  in  a  tub  of  water  close  to  the  surface,  and 
as  the  eggs  are  rubbed  through  they  fall  to  the 
bottom.  The  sieving  is  repeated  two  or  three 
times  until  the  eggs  are  entirely  free  from  each 
other  and  do  not  adhere.  They  are  then  trans- 
ferred to  hatching-jars. 

At  Cold  Spring  Harbor,  New  York,  where  the 
bulk  of  this  work  is  done,  the  McDonald  auto- 
matic jar  and  the  old  table  system  is  used ;  but 
the  eggs  can  be  hatched  in  the  open  Downing 
improved,  or  in  the  Meehan  jar,  quite  as  effec- 
tually. It  has  been  found  that  excessive  light, 
or  even  as  much  light  as  is  ordinarily  admitted 
in  a  hatching-house  for  pike-perch,  shad,  and 
most  fishes,  is  fatal  to  smelt  eggs;  therefore 
after  the  jars  have  been  put  in  place,  and  the 
water  turned  on,  a  black  curtain  should  be  hung 
on  each  side  of  the  battery,  so  that  the  eggs 
will  be  in  complete  darkness.  Although  the 
eggs  are  very  adhesive,  and  frequently  "ball" 
in  the  same  manner  as  pike-perch  eggs,  they  are 
very  easily  handled.  It  is  only  necessary  to 


WHITE  PEECH,  SMELTS,  ETC.     215 

remove  the  jar,  rub  the  eggs  again  through  a 
tray,  and  return  it  to  the  battery.  The  period 
of  incubation  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  days  ac- 
cording to  the  temperature  of  the  water. 

Although  living  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
in  salt  water,  smelts  can  be  easily  transported 
to  fresh  water,  where  they  will  live  and  mul- 
tiply. They  are  so  numerous,  for  example,  in 
Lake  Champlain  that  their  catching  is  a  l6cal 
industry.  They  appear  to  grow  more  rapidly 
and  to  a  greater  size  there  than  in  salt  water. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  white  perch. 
Along  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  are  many 
ponds  which  years  ago  were  connected  with  the 
ocean  by  open  channels,  and  were  favourite  re- 
sorts for  white  perch.  Communication  with  the 
sea  has  since  been  cut  off,  so  that  the  white 
perch  have  become  land-locked;  but  they  have 
accommodated  themselves  to  their  new  environ- 
ments, assumed  a  darker  hue  and  acquired  a 
greater  size  and  weight. 

Suckers. — A  dissertation  on  the  propagation 
of  the  sucker  may  cause  a  shock  to  some,  sur- 
prise to  others,  derision  from  more,  and  pro- 
tests from  a  few.  One  division  of  mankind  re- 


216  TISH  CULTURE 

gards,  or  affects  to  regard,  the  sucker  as  a 
worthless  fish  to  be  pursued  and  destroyed  as 
relentlessly  as  a  potato  bug.  Those  who  seri- 
iously  take  this  view,  do  so  on  the  ground  that 
it  is  destructive  as  a  spawn-eater,  and  that  it 
is  equally  responsible  with  the  "hog"  fisher- 
men and  water-pollution  for  the  depopulation 
of  trout-streams.  A  second  division  of  human 
kind  considers  the  sucker  as  valueless  for  food 
purposes — a  fish  with  soft  watery  flesh  and 
numerous  thorn-like  bones.  A  third  division, 
nearly  as  large  as  the  other  two  combined,  does 
not  care  how  much  trout-spawn  a  sucker  may 
eat,  or  of  what  sins  it  may  be  accused;  and 
pities  the  man,  and  considers  him  lacking  in 
taste,  who  belittles  the  food-qualities  of  the 
sucker.  The  great  majority  of  those  who  relish 
the  flesh  of  a  well-cooked  sucker  or  mullet, 
boldly  and  without  shame  avow  their  prefer- 
ence for  it  over  any  species  of  fish  which  swims 
in  fresh  water.  Few  of  them  hesitate  to  affirm 
that  in  the  spring,  while  the  water  is  yet  cold, 
the  flesh  of  the  sucker  is  firm  and  as  palatable 
as  that  of  the  brook-trout. 
Experiments  in  propagating  the  sucker  were 


WHITE  PEECH,  SMELTS,  ETC.     217 

conducted  in  1907  at  Wayne,  Pa.,  by  Nathan 
Buller,  who  reported  that  at  his  station  the 
suckers  began  to  ripen  about  June  1,  and 
by  the  12th  most  of  them  were  ready  for  spawn- 
ing. It  was  found  to  be  remarkably  easy  to 
take  the  eggs  and  milt,  handled  exactly  as  with 
brook-trout.  The  eggs  passed  from  the  female 
separately  and  as  freely  as  those  of  the  char, 
while  the  milt  was  extracted  with  ease.  The 
fish  were  handled  with  great  care,  given  a 
salt  bath  immediately  after  the  stripping,  and 
of  the  two  or  three  dozen  used  none  died. 
Each  female,  which  was  the  size  of  the  ordi- 
nary adult,  yielded  approximately  5,000  eggs. 
When  first  expressed,  they  were  about  the  size 
of  the  spawn  of  lake-herring  and  of  a  whitish 
flesh-colour.  They  were  treated  the  same  as 
trout-eggs,  and  there  was  no  adhesion  during 
the  period  of  resting  and  washing. 

After  fertilising  and  washing,  the  eggs  were 
set  aside  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Impregna- 
tion and  water-hardening  left  the  eggs  round 
and  increased  the  size  about  one  half.  In  three 
days  they  changed  to  an  oval  form  and  showed 
a  distinctly  light  spot,  similar  in  shape  to 


218  FISH  CTJLTUBE 

circle  of  a  " ringer"  trout-egg.  For  a  while  it 
was  thought  by  Mr.  Buller  that  the  eggs  were 
all  ringers,  but  after  close  watching  it  was  seen 
that  the  ring  kept  changing  and  growing  larger 
until  the  tenth  day,  when  the  outline  of  the  em- 
bryonic fish  became  visible  without  a  distinct 
sign  of  the  head  or  eyes.  On  the  15th  day  the 
young  fish  began  to  break  from  the  shell  and 
by  the  twentieth  they  were  all  out.  When  they 
first  emerged,  the  fry  were  white  and  possessed 
a  very  heavy  yolk-sac,  which  was  entirely  ab- 
sorbed in  five  days. 

Subsequently  sucker  propagation  was  tried 
by  other  fish-culturists  with  equal  success,  using 
jars  instead  of  troughs.  No  trouble  whatever 
was  met  with  during  the  process  of  incubation. 
The  eggs  remained  free,  and  during  the  entire 
period  there  was  no  indication  of  fungus. 


CHAPTEE  XVII 
FROG  CULTURE 

A  FEW  years  ago  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  through  its  Department  of 
Fisheries,  began  a  series  of  experiments  in 
frog-culture.  The  work  was  regarded  as  of 
tremendous  importance,  and  it  was  watched 
with  deep  interest  by  fish-culturists  all  over  the 
world.  The  effort  to  confine  frogs  and  rear 
them  to  a  marketable  size  was  novel,  and  if  suc- 
cessful would  form  a  foundation  of  a  great  in- 
dustry in  which  farmers  would  be  the  chief  par- 
ticipants. 

Frogs'  legs  have  a  very  important  place  in 
the  market  of  this  country.  Years  ago  the 
French  were  called  a  nation  of  frog-eaters,  but 
France  is  no  longer  pre-eminent  in  this  respect. 
The  United  States  is  now  the  chief  consumer  of 
this  delicious  food.  For  several  years  the  de- 
mand has  far  exceeded  the  supply,  and  their 

219 


220  FISH  CULTITBB 

cost  is  so  high  that  frogs'  legs  are  only  within 
reach  of  the  well-to-do. 

Experiments  and  Problems. — At  the  time 
that  Pennsylvania  began  experimenting  there 
were  no  establishments  in  the  eastern  United 
States  where  frogs  were  reared.  The  entire 
supply  was  derived  from  wild  frogs,  the  great 
bulk  coming  from  the  West  and  from  Canada. 
Pennsylvania  soon  ascertained  that  frog-cul- 
ture presents  about  as  many  difficult  problems 
as  did  the  earlier  work  with  black  bass,  and  also 
some  which  are  not  encountered  in  any  branch 
of  fish  culture  proper.  The  results  were  just 
sufficiently  encouraging  to  warrant  a  strong 
hope  of  success  at  some  future  time.  One  dis- 
heartening feature  is  the  frequency  of  the  com- 
plete loss  of  young  tadpoles.  Often  twenty- 
four  hours  will  include  the  beginning  and  end 
of  events  which  lead  to  complete  disaster.  On 
one  occasion,  while  on  a  visit  to  one  of  the  state 
hatcheries,  I  was  shown  a  pond  containing  thou- 
sands of  apparently  healthy  tadpoles.  By  the 
next  morning  every  tadpole  had  disappeared. 
They  had  died,  gases  had  generated,  their 
bodies  had  burst,  and  the  skins  had  sunk  to  the 


FKOG  CULTURE  221 

bottom  of  the  pond  and  been  buried  in  the  mud. 

Three  Edible  Frogs. — Three  species  were 
used  in  the  experiments  in  Pennsylvania, — the 
leopard,  the  green,  and  the  common  bullfrog. 
The  first  is  too  small  to  be  of  much  use  for  the 
food-market,  but  is  much  sought  after  by 
sportsmen  as  bait  for  certain  game-fishes.  The 
green  frog  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most 
delicately  flavoured ;  while  the  bullfrog  is  most 
hunted  on  account  of  its  huge  size,  and  the  fact 
that  there  is  meat  to  be  found  on  portions  of  its 
back,  and  on  the  shoulders  of  the  forelegs,  as 
well  as  on  the  full  length  of  the  hind  legs. 

Partly  because  of  the  short  time  elapsing  be- 
tween the  hatching  of  the  tadpole  and  its  devel- 
opment into  a  frog,  and  partly  because  it 
spawns  early  in  April,  the  initial  experiments 
were  with  the  leopard  frog,  but  it  soon  became 
manifest  that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  undertake 
the  propagation  of  this  small  species  except  for 
the  purpose  of  supplying  anglers  with  bait.  It 
was  found  that  there  is  apparently  less  likeli- 
hood of  complete  failure  in  attempts  to  propa- 
gate the  green,  and  the  bullfrog,  but  the  diffi- 
culties accompanying  the  work  are  legion,  and 


222  FISH  CULTUEE 

no  man,  until  these  difficulties  are  removed,  can 
expect  to  engage  in  frog-farming  with  any 
marked  degree  of  success. 

In  some  respects  the  growing  and  mature 
leopard  frog  is  easier  to  handle  than  the  green 
or  the  bullfrog,  because  it  is  more  gregarious 
in  its  habits.  The  green  frog  and  the  bullfrog 
are  both  solitary  in  their  ways  of  living,  and 
even  during  spawning  time  do  not  naturally 
come  together  in  great  numbers.  Not  so  the 
leopard  frog.  Early  in  the  spring,  just  before 
spawning,  they  gather  by  thousands  in  swampy 
places,  where  there  are  still  pools  of  clear  fresh 
water,  and  set  up  shrill  peepings,  incessant  day 
and  night,  until  the  united  volume  of  sound  is 
almost  deafening.  It  is  at  this  time,  and  even 
a  little  later,  that  the  marked  difference  be- 
tween the  habits  of  the  leopard  and  the  bull- 
frog are  most  pronounced.  Amid  the  multi- 
tude of  shrill  cries,  there  will  only  occasionally, 
and  at  varied  intervals,  resound  through  the 
night,  and  sometimes  in  the  daytime,  the  heavy 
booming  notes  of  the  bullfrog. 

Whatever  frog-farming  is  done  in  the  United 
States  is  rudimentary.  It  is  said  that  little  or 


FROG  CULTURE  223 

no  attempt  is  made  to  separate  tadpoles,  young 
frogs,  and  frogs  of  mature  market  size.  One 
man  in  Michigan,  who  had  been  carrying  on  the 
industry  for  25  years,  finally  abandoned  it  as 
unprofitable  "because  the  big  frogs  ate  the 
little  frogs,  the  little  frogs  ate  the  pollywogs, 
the  large  pollywogs  ate  the  small  pollywogs,  and 
birds  ate  both."  Frog  culture  is,  therefore,  a 
decided  risk. 

Site. — It  seems  probable  that  a  profitable 
frog-farm  requires  three  acres  or  more  of  land. 
About  two  acres  ought  to  be  occupied  by  a 
single  pond ;  and  a  similar  area  by  half  a  dozen 
or  more  smaller  bodies  of  water  for  tadpoles  and 
immature  frogs.  Any  swampy  or  low-lying  tract 
through  which  a  stream  of  water  flows  will 
answer  the  purpose.  The  stream  need  be  only 
sufficient  to  keep  the  ponds  from  becoming  stag- 
nant and  foul.  Water  enough  to  fill  a  four- 
inch  pipe  will  furnish  an  ample  supply  for  a 
plant  of  three  acres,  and  perhaps  for  one  of 
six  acres.  It  is  unimportant  whether  the  sup- 
ply is  secured  directly  from  a  spring  or  from 
a  brook,  and  repeated  roiliness  is  not  harmful 
to  either  tadpoles  or  frogs. 


224  FISH  CULTURE 

Three  sizes  of  ponds  are  necessary;  one,  the 
smallest,  for  hatching  eggs  and  carrying  the 
tadpoles  'to  frog  development ;  a  second,  much 
larger,  to  hold  young  frogs  until  they  are  over 
two  years  old;  the  third  and  the  largest,  for 
three-year-olds  and  over.  All  ponds  should  be 
excavated  and  have  a  generous  strip  of  grass- 
covered  ground  around  them.  It  is  also  desir- 
able that  there  be  a  low  embankment  all  around, 
so  that  occasionally  the  water  may  be  raised 
and  the  entire  area  flooded  to  a  depth  of  an  inch 
or  two  for  a  few  hours,  in  order  to  keep  the  soil 
wet, — a  condition  dear  to  the  heart  of  a  frog. 

Each  of  the  small  ponds  must  be  surrounded 
by  a  fence  so  constructed  that  young  frogs  can- 
not escape,  and  it  would  be  well  similarly  to  en- 
close the  large  pond  intended  for  mature  frogs. 
The  creatures  are  nomadic  in  their  habits,  and 
have  been  known  to  leave  suddenly  an  appar- 
ently very  desirable  body  of  water  for  no  as- 
certainable  reason,  and  take  up  their  quarters 
in  what,  to  the  human  mind,  seemed  an  inferior 
location. 

The  fence  need  not  be  more  than  2%  feet 
high,  but  on  the  top  there  should  be  a  board  or 


FEOG  CULTUEE  225 

a  strip  of  muslin  at  least  six  inches  wide,  pro- 
jecting horizontally  inward,  so  that  frogs 
which  succeed  in  climbing  to  the  top  cannot  go 
any  further.  A  frog  can  climb  almost  any- 
thing vertical,  short  of  a  smoothly  planed  board, 
and  in  trying  to  escape  will  display  astonish- 
ing perseverance.  Specimens  have  been  seen 
clambering  laboriously  to  a  horizontal  board 
and  dropping  invariably  to  the  ground  after 
reaching  the  top,  only  to  repeat  the  effort  again 
and  again  for  hours  at  a  time. 

Ponds  designed  to  hold  frogs  or  tadpoles 
through  the  winter  season  must  have  soft 
muddy  bottoms  into  which  they  can  burrow  and 
hibernate.  It  is  also  desirable  that  the  banks 
of  all  ponds  for  fully  developed  frogs  have 
sloping  sides,  so  that  the  creatures  can  easily 
be  screened  to  prevent  their  escape. 

The  average  depth  of  the  smaller  ponds  may 
be  only  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet ;  or  a  little 
more  than  the  thickness  of  the  heaviest  ice 
likely  to  form  in  winter.  A  kettle  is  not  as 
necessary  as  in  a  pond  built  for  propagating 
warm-water  fishes,  yet  it  would  probably  be 
beneficial.  A  large  pond  for  the  adults  may  be 


226  FISH  CULTURE 

built  across  a  stream  of  water,  provided  the 
latter  is  of  moderate  size,  and  is  not  subjected 
to  any  floods;  but  if  the  pond  is  so  con- 
structed the  upper  end  must  be  carefully 
screened  to  prevent  escape  of  the  captives. 

As  frogs  subsist  entirely  upon  living  crea- 
tures, and  will  devour  nothing  dead,  all  ponds 
excepting  those  designed  exclusively  for  tad- 
poles, must  contain  an  abundance  of  water- 
grasses  and  flowering  aquatic  plants.  Pond- 
lilies  are  particularly  effective.  It  is  also  de- 
sirable that  flowering  plants  which  thrive  in 
wet  places  be  maintained  on  the  strips  of 
ground  around  the  ponds,  as  flowers  and 
grasses  attract  insects  and  other  small  forms 
of  life  upon  which  frogs  feed. 

Each  pond  for  hatching  eggs  and  caring  for 
tadpoles  of  the  leopard  species,  should  be  at 
least  60  feet  long  and  20  feet  wide.  There  is 
no  necessity  for  it  to  be  surrounded  by  a  patch 
of  grassy  ground,  nor  to  contain  lilies  and 
other  flowering  plants,  because  tadpoles  will 
readily  feed  on  dead  fish  and  liver.  Almost 
any  kind  of  bottom  will  answer  for  tadpoles  of 
the  leopard  frog.  As  this  species  is  of  little 


FKOG  CULTUEE  227 

value,  excepting  to  sportsmen  for  use  as  bait 
for  fishing,  the  hatching-pond  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  fence,  because  there  will  be  no 
need  to  transfer  the  young  after  their  meta- 
morphosis to  other  and  larger  ponds. 

As  frogs  almost  invariably,  when  in  tHe 
water,  keep  near  the  shore,  it  would  probably 
be  economy  to  make  the  ponds  very  narrow,  not 
more  than  20  or  30  feet  wide.  They  might  be 
in  the  nature  of  ditches,  winding  and  twisting 
over  the  property. 

The  entire  period,  from  the  time  the  eggs  of 
the  leopard  frogs  are  fertilised  until  the  frogs 
are  ready  to  be  sold  to  the  sporting-goods  men, 
is  only  between  three  and  four  months.  Hence, 
if  this  species  is  propagated  for  that  purpose, 
and  success  is  achieved,  the  returns  are  quick, 
and  the  season  soon  over. 

Ponds  for  hatching  green  frogs  and  bullfrogs 
should  be  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  large  as  those 
intended  for  the  holding  of  the  yearling  and 
two-year-olds,  and  they  should  be  just  as  deep. 
Pennsylvania  found  that  ponds  275  feet  long 
and  60  feet  wide  developed  thousands  of  the 
tadpoles  of  the  common  green  frog  under  fa- 


228  FISH  CULTUEE 

vourable  circumstances,  and  would  hold  them 
for  a  year.  A  pond  sixty  by  twenty  feet  de- 
veloped only  10,000  green  frogs. 

Ordinarily,  tadpoles  of  the  common  bull- 
frogs hatched  one  season  do  not  develop  into 
frogs  until  late  in  the  spring,  or  early  in  the 
summer,  of  the  following  year;  therefore  the 
bottom  of  the  tadpole  pond  should  in  this  case 
have  soft  mud,  at  least  a  foot  or  two  deep,  and 
also  grasses  as  resting  places  for  the  tadpoles. 
Tadpoles  develop  into  frogs  more  quickly,  and 
with  less  danger  of  loss,  when  they  have  some- 
thing on  which  they  may  occasionally  rest. 

Leopard  frogs  spawn  in  April  and  the  eggs 
are  fertilised  as  they  issue  from  the  female. 
They  pass  from  her  in  a  string-like  mass  that 
almost  instantly  combines  into  a  ball,  which  in 
a  short  while  is  from  three  to  four  times  the 
size  of  the  frog.  Each  egg  is  surrounded  by 
a  nearly  colourless,  gelatinous  material,  in 
which  each  egg  is  plainly  discernible,  and  is 
black  in  colour  when  perfectly  fresh.  There 
are  about  3,500  to  a  liquid  quart.  As  the  eggs 
approach  development  there  occur  several 
marked  changes  in  colour.  Sometimes  the 


FROG  CULTUEE  229 

egg-masses  are  allowed  to  float  freely  in  the 
pool  in  which  they  are  deposited;  sometimes, 
they  are  submerged  and  fastened  to  stems  of 
water-plants  and  branches  of  bushes.  The 
leopard  frog  deposits  its  spawn  in  pools  on 
which  the  sun  plays.  It  is  rare  to  find  eggs 
in  dark  places  where  the  sunlight  does  not 
penetrate. 

If  a  person  intends  to  attempt  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  leopard  frog,  there  is  seldom  any 
necessity  for  maintaining  breeders  on  his 
establishment,  unless  he  purposes  to  market 
them  for  food,  because  the  chances  are,  that 
from  the  edges  of  nearby  swamps  he  can  secure 
all  the  eggs  for  rearing  that  he  requires.  Ten 
quarts  of  leopard  frog  eggs  are  all  that 
should  be  put  in  a  pond  of  60  feet  by  20  feet, 
since  that  area  of  water  will  not  safely  carry 
more  than  40,000  tadpoles  past  the  develop- 
ment stage.  A  lesser  number  would  be  a 
greater  exhibition  of  prudence.  Overcrowd- 
ing, even  during  the  first  three  or  four  days 
after  hatching,  is  almost  certain  to  result  in 
the  loss  of  the  entire  stock,  the  most  exasperat- 
ing feature  of  which  is  that  it  generally  does 


230  FISH  CULTURE 

not  occur  until  within  a  few  days  of  the  time 
when  the  hind  legs  should  appear. 

As  the  metamorphosis  seems  to  draw  heavily 
upon  the  vitality  of  the  tadpole,  it  is  important 
that  the  normal  growth  and  strength  be  fully 
maintained  both  by  plenty  of  water  room  and 
an  abundance  of  food.  Over-crowding  will 
almost  invariably  result  in  stunted  growth  and 
consequently  lowered  vitality,  even  if  they 
appear  to  be  healthy  and  are  active  until  the 
very  last.  As  the  majority  of  a  single  hatch- 
ing usually  develops  legs  almost  simultane- 
ously, it  generally  happens  that  when  there 
has  been  over-crowding,  thousands  will  die 
within  a  few  hours.  Each  tadpole  is  then  only 
a  shape  of  thick  skin  filled  with  a  soft  mushy 
material,  without  bones.  In  an  hour  or  so 
after  death  this  mushy  material  decomposes, 
the  skin  bursts  and  sinks  to  the  bottom.  The 
water,  thus  polluted,  will  probably  kill  the  rest, 
and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence  for  the 
entire  stock  in  the  pond  to  die  and  utterly  dis- 
appear within  twenty-four  hours. 

Enemies. — Tadpoles  have  myriads  of  enemies. 
The  most  destructive  to  the  leopard  and  the 


FEOG  CULTURE  231 

green  frog  is  the  fully  developed  daphnia. 
These  minute,  crab-like  creatures  cling  to 
each  tadpole  by  hundreds  and  thousands, 
sometimes  completely  covering  the  body,  and 
so  sapping  the  strength  of  the  victim  as 
to  cause  its  death.  The  tadpole  of  the  bull- 
frog is  also  subjected  to  similar  attacks,  but 
apparently  not  to  the  same  extent,  nor  with 
as  frequent  fatality,  since  it  is  hatched  later 
in  the  season  and  from  its  size  seems  to  be  able 
to  offer  greater  powers  of  resistance. 

Another  dreaded  enemy  of  the  tadpole, 
particularly  of  the  leopard  species,  is  the  larva 
of  the  water-beetle.  This  hideous  creature  is 
from  four  to  five  inches  long,  hangs  in  the 
water  with  its  tail  at  the  surface,  and,  stealing 
upon  a  tadpole  as  it  passes,  drives  its  power- 
ful mandibles  into  its  body  and  sucks  the  con- 
tents into  its  stomach.  A  few  thousand  larvas 
of  the  water  beetle  will  destroy  a  small  pond  of 
tadpoles  in  a  few  days.  When  they  appear, 
there  is  only  one  thing  to  do;  have  all  the  force 
on  the  place  wade  through  the  pond  with  scap 
nets  and  dip  out  the  destructive  creatures. 

Feeding. — Tadpoles  will  devour  almost  any 


232  FISH  CULTUBE 

kind  of  meat,  but  the  best  is  fresh  dead  fish. 
Forty  thousand  tadpoles  will  easily  consume 
25  pounds  of  fish  weekly.  If  desired,  the  fish 
may  be  ground  or  cut  into  pieces,  but  a  few 
may  be  thrown  whole  into  a  pond.  In  a  few 
moments  the  carcass  will  be  completely  covered 
by  hundreds  of  tadpoles,  and  before  very  long 
there  will  be  nothing  left  but  a  skeleton. 

Development. — When  the  period  of  met- 
amorphosis approaches,  the  tadpoles  take  less 
and  less  food,  until,  just  before  the  change 
takes  place,  they  cease  eating  altogether. 
Then  the  hind  legs  push  out,  ridiculously  small 
for  the  size  of  the  body.  A  day  or  two  after- 
wards in  the  case  of  the  leopard  frog,  and  a 
week  or  two  in  the  cases  of  the  green  frog  and 
bullfrog,  the  forelegs  break  suddenly  through 
the  skin.  When  this  occurs,  the  half -frog  re- 
ceives sustenance  by  absorption  from  the  con- 
tents of  its  tail,  as  the  fry  of  a  fish  absorbs 
the  contents  of  the  yolk-sac,  or  a  plant  the  con- 
tents of  the  seed-leaves.  The  process  causes 
the  tail  to  become  smaller  and  smaller,  until 
finally  there  is  only  a  small  point  at  the  base 


FEOG  CULTURE  233 

of  the  backbone,  which  remains  all  through. 
life. 

The  period  required  for  the  absorption  of 
the  tail  depends  on  the  species  and  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water.  The  tail  of  the  leopard 
frog  disappears  much  more  quickly  than  that 
of  either  the  green  or  the  bullfrog.  The  tad- 
pole of  the  green  frog  is  about  as  large  again  as 
that  of  the  leopard  frog.  The  tadpole  of  the 
bullfrog  is  conspicuous  both  for  its  length  and 
girth,  and  specimens  six  inches  and  more  long 
are  not  rare. 

The  rule  to  sort  and  grade  frequently  fish 
into  sizes  holds  good  in  frog-culture.  It  is 
strictly  a  carnivorous  creature.  It  will  in  no 
circumstances  eat  anything  but  living  food 
after  the  time  it  is  fully  developed  from  the 
tadpole.  It  will  not  only  eat  live  fish  and  in- 
sects, but  shows  a  decided  inclination  to  can- 
nibalism. 


CHAPTER  XVIH 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  AN  AQUARIUM 
aquarium  for  fish  or  other  aquatic  life 


is  within  the  reach  of  almost  any  one.  Recep- 
tacles for  holding  and  displaying  live  fishes 
have  come  to  be  considered  almost  a  matter 
of  course  as  a  part  of  the  house  furnishing, 
and  more  or  less  suitable  vessels  may  be 
bought  anywhere  from  five  cents  to  a  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  each.  They  may  be  had  in 
globes,  in  pendants,  or  on  stands;  or  in  cylin- 
drical, octagonal,  or  oblong  tanks,  made  of 
glass,  glass  and  iron,  glass  and  brass,  or  any 
combination  that  the  mind  fancies.  In  size 
they  vary  from  a  miniature  globe,  capable  of 
containing  only  one  small  fish,  to  a  receptacle 
suitable  for  holding  many  dozens. 

There  is  something  very  attractive  about  an 
aquarium,  well  kept,  and  large  enough  to  hold 
several  fish,  water  plants  and  perhaps  a  tiny 

234 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUABIUMS     235 

fountain.  One  of  the  most  pleasant  and  en- 
during memories  of  an  especially  handsome 
house,  artistically  furnished,  is  of  a  sitting- 
room  bay-window  containing  a  large  ornamental 
aquarium  of  Japanese  f ringed-tail  goldfish 
and  aquatic  plants;  it  was  surrounded  by 
plants  in  pots  and  hanging  baskets,  and  had  in 
the  aquarium  a  graceful  fountain,  the  falling 
waters  of  which  were  just  sufficiently  loud  to 
be  heard  in  the  room. 

An  aquarium  need  not  necessarily  be  de- 
voted to  fish  alone  to  be  interesting.  There 
are  numerous  forms  of  aquatic  animal  life, 
readily  found  in  rural  streams,  pools  or  ponds, 
which  may  be  utilised  and  become  a  source 
of  constant  interest.  Tadpoles,  newts,  fresh- 
water shell-fish,  water-bugs  and  beetles,  re- 
veal a  marvellous  story  to  the  observant  eye. 
Some  of  these  forms  of  animal  life  are  impor- 
tant adjuncts  to  an  aquarium  when  fish  are 
to  be  tenants.  Tadpoles  and  fresh-water  snails 
should  always  be  included,  since  they  are 
scavengers  and  assist  materially  in  keeping  the 
aquarium  clean  and  the  water  pure. 

Certain  water  plants  are  also  important  in 


236  FISH  CULTURE 

the  successful  maintenance  of  an  aquarium. 
Some  are  of  little  value  except  as  ornaments, 
but  others  furnish  oxygen  in  considerable 
quantities,  and  so  render  it  unnecessary  to 
change  the  water  frequently. 

Goldfish  are  not  the  only  species  which  may 
be  carried  in  an  aquarium.  Many  other  at- 
tractive fishes  may  be  kept  in  still  water  where 
there  is  an  abundance  of  oxygenating  plants. 
Indeed,  within  the  last  few  years  many  tropical 
fresh-water  fishes  have  been  introduced  into 
the  United  States  for  this  purpose;  some  are 
of  remarkable  beauty,  and  all  afford  constant 
interest.  Some  of  these  foreign  fishes  bring 
forth  their  young  alive,  others,  after  deposit- 
ing eggs  in  the  sandy  bottom  of  the  aquarium, 
immediately  dig  a  hole  in  another  part,  and 
transfer  the  eggs  in  their  mouths  from  the  first 
to  the  second  hole  and  do  this  twice  a  day  until 
the  eggs  are  hatched. 

If  running  water  can  be  had  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  aquarium  are  endless,  for  a  ma- 
jority of  fishes  can  be  transplanted  from  the 
wild  state,  and  kept  in  confinement  and  healthy 
for  an  indefinite  period.  Even  brook-trout 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUAEIUMS     237 

will  do  well  under  such  circumstances,  provided 
the  water-temperature  during  July  and  Au- 
gust does  not  rise  too  high.  I  have  seen  this 
fish  carried  successfully  through  both  these 
months  without  the  aid  of  ice  or  a  refrigerat- 
ing apparatus,  by  simply  increasing  the  aera- 
tion of  the  water.  Many  native  fishes  common 
to  the  brooks  and  waters  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  home  make  desirable  and  even  pretty 
denizens  of  an  aquarium ;  and  they  are  of  com- 
paratively easy  culture.  The  yellow  perch,  the 
sun-fish,  the  cat-fish,  and  the  stickleback  will 
do  well  in  a  still-water  aquarium.  Nearly  all 
forms  of  minnows  are  as  well  adapted  to  the 
aquarium  as  the  goldfish,  which,  by  the  way,  be- 
longs to  the  minnow  family. 

Choosing  or  Building  an  Aquarium. — The 
best  and  most  convenient  form  of  aquarium 
is  an  oblong  tank  of  glass  and  metal.  An  all- 
glass  aquarium  is  not  as  desirable  or  as  safe. 
The  globe  shape  is  not  as  easily  kept  clean  and 
an  all-glass  vessel  is  very  apt  to  crack  and 
break  owing  to  the  unequal  expansion  and  con- 
traction from  varying  temperatures  of  the 
room  and  the  water. 


238  FISH  CULTURE 

It  does  not  require  any  great  amount  of  in- 
genuity for  a  person  to  make  his  own  aquarium. 
A  two-inch  board,  planed  and  grooved,  four 
upright  angle-irons,  clinching-bands,  angle-iron 
top-frame,  a  double  or  treble  thickness  of  glass 
according  to  the  size  of  the  vessel,  and  a  cement 
which  can  also  be  homemade;  these  with  a 
little  expenditure  of  time  and  care  in  fitting 
will  make  a  neat,  serviceable  aquarium,  nearly 
as  good  as  any  which  can  be  bought. 

Two  precautions  are  to  be  observed;  one  that  the 
aquarium  be  water-tight,  and  the  other  that  there  be 
plenty  of  room  for  the  glass  to  expand  and  contract 
under  varying  temperatures.  The  grooves  in  the  bot- 
tom board  must  be  wider  by  the  fraction  of  an  inch 
than  the  thickness  of  the  glass,  and  the  panes  must 
be  a  trifle  shorter  than  the  length  and  width.  The 
cement  should  also  be  of  such  a  consistency  that  it 
will  always  be  soft  enough  to  permit  the  expansion 
and  contraction  of  the  glass.  Cement  for  fastening 
the  glass  to  the  frame  can  be  bought  at  almost  any 
store  selling  globes  and  fish;  but  an  almost  equally 
good  one  can  be  made  of  common  putty,  red  lead, 
litharge,  and  sometimes  a  very  small  quantity  of  plas- 
ter of  Paris.  Before  putting  in  the  glass,  the  grooves 
and  the  inside  of  the  angle  iron  should  be  thickly  set 
with  the  cement,  the  glass  then  embedded,  and  fast- 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUAEIUMS     239 

ened  firmly  by  the  top  frame  and  clinching-bands. 
The  cement  should  then  be  pressed  in  firmly  and 
smoothed  with  the  putty-knife,  and  when  it  is  partly 
dried  be  painted  with  asphaltum  paint.  The  bottom, 
if  of  wood,  should  be  given  a  slight  coating  of  liquid 
cement  to  prevent  warping. 

While  a  two-inch  board  may  be  used  for  the  bottom 
of  an  aquarium,  it  is  more  desirable  to  have  it  of 
slate,  marble  or  concrete.  The  last  named  is  substan- 
tial, much  easier  to  secure  and  cheaper.  To  make  a 
concrete  bottom,  fashion  a  wooden  frame  of  the  de- 
sired dimensions,  and  fill  it  with  concrete,  made  of 
three  parts  of  sharp  sand  and  one  of  cement.  One- 
half  sand  and  half  cement  would  possibly  make  a 
harder  base,  but  it  would  be  more  liable  to  crack  in 
drying  unless  re-inforced,  than  when  made  with  the 
proportions  first  given.  Immediately  after  placing 
the  concrete  in  the  form,  large  wire  nails  should  be 
pushed  in  at  regular  intervals  around  the  edge  of 
the  base.  After  the  concrete  has  hardened  the  nails 
are  withdrawn,  leaving  holes  for  the  bolts  which  are 
to  fasten  the  framework  to  the  bottom.  If  the  bot- 
tom be  of  slate  or  marble,  then  bolt-holes  must  be 
drilled  in  its  surface,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  make 
grooves,  as  the  angle-iron  frame  can  be  set  on  the 
surface  with  a  thin  layer  of  cement  to  prevent  leak- 
age. The  frame-work  is  bolted  to  the  bottom. 

If  the  aquarium  is  to  contain  running  water,  then 
an  outflow  will  be  necessary.  This  may  be  made  by 


240  FISH  CULTURE 

drilling  a  hole  in  the  base  near  one  end,  and  putting 
in  a  drain-pipe,  which  ought  to  be  a  little  larger  than 
necessary  to  carry  off  the  ordinary  overflow,  as  it 
may  be  imperative  to  turn  on  for  a  while  a  much 
heavier  stream  from  the  supplying  pipe. 

Many  persons  on  purchasing  or  making  an 
aquarium  are  impatient  to  put  it  to  use  im- 
mediately, but  this  is  a  mistake.  Wash  the 
tank  a  number  of  times,  and  change  the  water 
frequently  for  a  week  or  ten  days  before  stock- 
ing it.  After  being  washed  and  filled  tbe  first 
time,  heavily  impregnate  the  water  with  salt, 
and  allow  the  solution  to  remain  for  two  or 
three  days  to  thoroughly  purify  the  aquarium; 
replace  this  with  fresh  water,  and  change  sev- 
eral times  in  the  next  two  or  three  days.  Not 
until  then  ought  the  water  intended  for  the 
fish  to  be  introduced. 

In  the  meantime,  a  quantity  of  river,  stream, 
or  bird  sand  may  be  secured,  sufficient  to  cover 
the  bottom  of  the  aquarium  to  a  depth  of  two 
or  three  inches.  If  it  is  river  or  stream  sand, 
first  wash  it  thoroughly  in  hot  salt  water  and 
repeat  the  washing  until  every  particle  of 
vegetable  matter  and  clay  is  removed.  Dirty 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUARIUMS     241 

sand  breeds  disease.  When  the  sand  is  finally 
ready,  and  the  aquarium  drained,  put  in  the 
sand  and  cover  it  with  an  inch  of  well-washed 
gravel  and  small  pebbles.  After  the  sand  and 
gravel  have  been  placed,  water-plants  may  be 
introduced.  Do  not  plant  many  since  they 
grow  with  such  rapidity  that  the  aquarium  will 
be  overstocked  soon,  and  some  of  them  will  have 
to  be  removed. 

Stocking  an  Aquarium. — The  best  water  for 
an  aquarium  is  from  a  river,  stream  or  pond. 
Rain-water  which  has  been  exposed  for  some 
time  to  the  air  is  also  excellent,  but  the  ex- 
posure must  be  of  some  length  to  render  it 
safe.  If  water  is  taken  from  a  hydrant,  it 
should  first  flow  with  full  force  into  a  bucket, 
so  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  aerated.  Under 
no  circumstances  ought  pump-water  to  be  used, 
as  it  is  what  is  commonly  called  "dead,"  that 
is  without  aeration.  There  is  a  prejudice  in 
some  quarters  against  hard  or  limestone  water, 
but  if  taken  from  a  spring  or  stream  I  feel 
that  there  is  little  or  no  danger  in  using  it. 

If  the  aquarium  is  to  contain  goldfish,  or 
other  species  that  will  live  in  still  water,  it  is 


242  FISH  CULTUEE 

unnecessary  to  change  the  water  frequently, 
especially  if  the  tank  be  well  provided  with 
suitable  aquatic  plants.  Simply  replace  that 
which  has  been  lost  through  evaporation  from 
time  to  time.  If  care  be  exercised  and  the 
aquarium  kept  clean,  a  complete  change  of 
water  is  only  necessary  about  once  in  six 
months.  It  would  be  well  to  introduce  at  first 
a  few  snails  and  tadpoles,  and  then,  after  two 
or  three  days,  the  fish. 

A  careful  person  will  wash  the  inside  of  the 
glass  of  a  show-aquarium  daily,  or  at  least 
thrice  a  week,  to  keep  the  surface  free  from 
green  slime,  a  vegetable  growth  (confervae) 
which  covers  the  glass  and  develops  very 
rapidly  in  a  fairly  bright  light,  as  when  the 
aquarium  is  set  near  a  window.  The  growth 
of  the  useful  plants  in  the  tanks  and  of  its  ani- 
mal life  requires  that  the  aquarium  should  get 
considerable  sunlight,  but  too  much  sunlight, 
together  with  the  heat  of  a  room,  may  raise 
the  temperature  of  the  water  so  high  as  to  in- 
jure the  fish  because  of  the  rapid  loss  of  oxy- 
gen. Hence  sensible  care  must  be  taken  in  this 
respect.  Any  fish  or  animal  that  may  die 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUAEIUMS      243 

should  be  removed  at  once,  since  the  decom- 
position is  likely  to  foul  the  water,  and  injure 
the  remaining  fishes. 

Water-temperature  is  an  important  factor 
for  a  successful  aquarium.  The  common  gold- 
fish, such  as  are  bought  anywhere  for  from  five 
to  ten  cents  each,  are  not  very  particular  about 
it,  but  some  of  the  choicer  varieties,  especially 
those  of  the  scaleless  type,  must  have  a  fairly 
even  water-temperature  throughout  the  year, 
and  are  liable  to  bladder-troubles  when  the 
temperature  falls  below  60  degrees.  There- 
fore it  is  best  that  water  for  the  aquarium 
which  is  to  contain  goldfish  be  not  less  than 
60  nor  more  than  70  degrees.  For  tropical 
fishes  the  temperature  must  be  maintained  be- 
tween 70  and  80  degrees.  The  green  slime 
that  develops  on  the  glass  in  bright  sunlight 
is  not  harmful  to  fish,  but  is  an  indication  that 
the  water  is  perfectly  pure.  Most  goldfish 
culturists  keep  several  tanks  with  so  much 
confervas  in  the  water  that  the  fish  are  almost 
invisible,  and  put  into  them,  as  " hospitals " 
fish  that  are  a  little  "under  the  weather."  A 
good  supply  of  snails,  especially  the  Japanese 


244  FISH  CULTURE 

and  African  species,  will  keep  the  glass  of  the 
aquarium  fairly  clear  of  slime. 

Purity  of  water  is  naturally  of  first  impor- 
tance. Fortunately  it  is  generally  easy  to  de- 
tect impurity.  A  disagreeable  odor  usually 
manifests  itself,  and  almost  invariably  the  water 
becomes  slightly  cloudy.  Fish  and  snails  com- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  water  on  clear  sunshiny 
days  give  a  strong  indication  of  foul  water. 
When  it  becomes  necessary  to  change  the  water 
in  an  aquarium,  it  is  better  not  to  dip  it  out 
but  to  draw  it  out  by  means  of  a  siphon  (rubber 
tube) ;  when  the  tank  is  half  empty,  remove  the 
fish  by  means  of  a  small  net.  The  water 
should  also  be  replaced  in  the  same  manner  so 
as  not  to  displace  the  sand  and  gravel  at  the 
bottom. 

Some  people  like  to  place  rockwork  in  an 
aquarium.  Where  it  can  be  done  this  is  desir- 
able both  for  the  fish  and  as  resting  places  for 
the  tadpoles,  and  it  should  project  a  little  above 
the  surface  of  the  water. 

Care  of  Goldfish.— Goldfish,  after  the  man- 
ner of  other  carp,  like  to  jump  once  in  a  while, 
so  there  must  be  either  a  considerable  space 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUAKIUMS     245 

between  the  surface  of  the  water  and  the  top 
of  the  aquarium,  or  the  top  of  the  aquarium 
must  be  covered  with  wire  netting,  otherwise 
the  owner  will  likely  find  a  dead  fish  on  the 
floor  some  morning.  Such  precautions  are  also 
advisable  if  cats  are  household  pets,  since  they 
love  fish,  and  are  expert  fishermen. 

One  requisite  for  the  successful  care  of  fish 
in  an  aquarium  is  to  avoid  coddling  them  too 
much.  Never  handle  them  except  when  ab- 
solutely necessary,  and  then  only  with  the  wet 
hands  or  with  a  small  net.  Above  all  things 
never  overfeed  aquarium  fish.  It  is  safer  to 
give  them  a  fair  allowance  every  other  day, 
rather  than  to  supply  them  with  food  daily; 
but  under  no  circumstances  should  they  be 
given  more  than  they  will  eat  in  a  few  minutes. 
If  there  is  any  food  left  uneaten  at  the  end  of 
five  minutes,  the  fish  are,  generally  speaking, 
given  too  much.  Probably  the  safest  food  is 
the  manufactured  fish-food  purchased  from  a 
dealer;  and  the  granulated  foods  are  more  de- 
sirable than  the  foods  that  come  in  sheet  form. 
A  couple  of  pinches  will  be  enough  for  half  a 
dozen  every  day.  Tiny  fragments  of  bread 


246  FISH  CULTUEE 

may  occasionally  be  given,  and,  if  extreme  care 
be  exercised,  a  very  small  quantity  of  un- 
cooked oatmeal;  but  the  last  named  is  danger- 
ous, since  any  which  is  uneaten  will  ferment. 
A  tablespoonful  thrown  into  an  aquarium  two 
feet  long  would  probably  kill  every  fish  in 
twelve  hours. 

One  of  the  best  foods  for  goldfish,  and  indeed 
for  almost  any  small  fish  is  a  minute  aquatic 
creature  called  daphnia.  It  is  related  to  the 
crab  family,  and  under  certain  conditions  is 
found  by  the  million  in  still  or  stagnant  pools 
with  mud  bottoms,  and  where  aquatic  plants 
are  abundant.  The  daphnia  is  of  a  reddish 
hue,  and  swims  with  a  short  jerky  motion.  It 
is  most  abundant  during  the  summer  and  early 
autumn,  but  it  may  be  gathered  in  quantities 
even  during  the  winter.  The  larvae  of  daphnia 
develop  on  subaquatic  plants,  and  the  growth 
of  that  useful  plankton  may  be  encouraged  by 
spreading  cow  or  sheep  manure  over  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pond.  Greater  success  is  likely  to 
result  from  using  small  fish  rather  than  large. 
A  greater  number  can  be  carried  safely. 

"Aquatic  Plants  for  an  'Aquarium. — Aquatic 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUARIUMS     247 

plants  are  necessary  as  an  equipment  for  an 
aquarium,  as  they  are  both  beautifiers  and 
oxygen  producers.  Without  their  help  it  would 
not  always  be  safe  to  allow  the  water  to  re- 
main in  an  aquarium  for  an  indefinite  period 
without  changing  it. 

Of  the  plants  whicH  grow  in  sand  or  gravel 
three  stand  forth  prominently  as  the  most 
valuable.  They  are  the  anacharis  or  water- 
weed,  the  sagittarias,  and  the  ludwigias. 
These  three  all  give  forth  a  great  amount  of 
oxygen,  and  are  beautiful  and  of  rapid  growth. 
The  anacharis  in  particular  is  such  a  vigorous 
grower  that  often  in  a  few  weeks,  when  the 
sunshine  is  bright  and  the  water  warm,  it  will 
have  to  be  thinned  out.  The  Anacharis  can- 
adensis  is  the  best  species,  and  has  dark  green, 
ovate  leaves,  with  light  stems. 

The  sagittaria  resembles  somewhat  tHe  well 
known  vallisneria,  or  giant  eel-grass,  but  it  is 
considered  as  a  better  oxygenator  and  does  not 
fill  up  an  aquarium  as  rapidly  as  the  eel-grass. 
'Sagittaria  napana  is  as  indispensable  for 
oxygenating  purposes  as  the  anacharis,  to 
which  it  also  forms  a  very  strong  contrast  in 


248  FISH  CULTURE 

appearance.  It  has  long  strap-like  leaves, 
springing  from  a  nearly  common  base,  almost 
like  the  leaves  of  a  bulb,  and  is  especially  de- 
sirable for  a  small  aquarium.  The  Ludwigia 
Mulerttii  is  called  a  submerged  plant,  but 
while  its  greatest  growth  is  beneath  the  sur- 
face, it  does  push  its  head  above  the  water  and 
sometimes  for  several  inches.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly valuable  for  its  oxygen-giving  qualities, 
and  is  one  of  the  prettiest  of  the  sub-aquatic 
plants.  It  has  small  ovate  leaves,  having  the 
upper  part  green  and  the  under-side  a  dark 
rose  pink.  It  is  unlike  any  other  aquatic  plant 
and  grows  in  thick  bunches. 

Eel-grass  (Vallisneria  spiralis)  ought  by  all 
means  to  be  placed  on  the  list  of  sub-aquatic 
plants  for  the  aquarium.  It  has  the  male  and 
female  flowers  on  separate  plants;  the  male 
flowers  are  borne  on  straight  short  stalks, 
while  the  female  blossoms  are  on  a  long  spiral 
stalk.  Both  open  and  mature  their  flowers  on 
or  above  the  surface. 

A  favourite  aquatic  plant  with  most  aquar- 
ists,  and  one  found  in  nearly  every  store  deal- 
ing with  goldfish  and  aquarium  supplies,  is  the 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUAKIUMS     249 

Washington  plant,  or  Cabomba  viridifolia, 
whose  stem  and  leaves  are  fern-like  in  their 
gracefulness.  The  fan-shaped  leaves  are  a 
brilliant  glossy  green  and  are  slashed  clear  to 
the  stem  into  thread-like  sections. 

The  pond-weeds  (Potamogeton)  and  the 
hornwort  (Ceratophyllum)  are  both  favourites, 
especially  Potamogeton  densus,  with  brownish- 
green  leaves  attached  opposite  each  other  on 
a  reddish  stalk,  but  on  account  of  the  eager- 
ness with  which  mollusks  and  fish  attack  and 
devour  the  leaves  and  stems  it  soon  loses  much 
of  its  beauty.  The  hornwort  is  an  attractive 
and  effective  plant,  with  narrow  forked  leaves 
set  round  the  stem  in  whorls.  It  is  one  of  the 
commonest  of  our  native  water-plants,  and 
takes  to  an  aquarium  as  to  the  manner  born. 
It  may  be  tied  together  in  little  bunches, 
weighted  with  a  piece  of  stone  or  lead  and  sunk 
to  the  bottom,  where  it  will  flourish  just  as 
well  as  though  it  were  regularly  planted. 

The  duck- weeds  are  favourites  among  the 
floating  plants.  They  have  minute  generally 
rounded  leaves  which  rest  flat  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and  small  roots  that  hang 


250  FISH  CULTUEE 

vertically  therefrom,  about  an  incH  below  the 
surface.  The  greater  duck-weed  (Lemna  poly- 
rhiza),  the  lesser  duck-weed  (Lemna  minor) 
and  the  thick  duck- weed,  (Lemna  gibba)  are 
the  most  attractive,  although  they  have  very 
little  value  for  oxygenating  purposes. 

The  water-poppy  (Limnocharis  humboldti) 
is  one  of  the  handsomest  of  the  surface  water- 
plants  for  small  aquaria,  as  it  possesses  small 
heart-shaped  leaves,  and  yellow,  poppy-like 
flowers  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  water- 
crow-foot  (Ranunculus  aquatilis)  is  also  an 
excellent  plant  as  a  contrast  to  the  water- 
poppy,  having  beautiful  green  leaves,  and 
pretty  white  flowers  with  many  yellow 
stamens  strikingly  like  strawberry  blossoms. 
Many  aquatic  plants  live  principally  in 
only  partially  submerged  or  in  wet  spots. 
One  of  the  favourites  is  the  forget-me- 
not,  or  Myosotis  palustris;  and  a  good  foil  to 
the  forget-me-not  is  the  umbrella  grass  (Cy- 
perus  alternifolius).  As  a  finishing  touch  to 
the  rock  work  there  may  be  planted  the 
Lycopodium  coesium  or  creeping  moss. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AQUARIUMS     251 

Among  tender  aquatics,  that  is  those  not  hardy  but 
very  effective  for  an  aquarium,  are  to  be  found  the 
following:  Aponogeton  dOstachyus,  or  the  Cape  Cod 
pond-weed,  a  winter-flowering  plant  having  pretty 
white  blossoms;  Limnanthemum  indicunij  or  water 
snow-flake,  whose  leaves  float  like  those  of  the  water- 
lily  and  whose  flowers  are  white;  Myriophyllum 
proserpinacoides  or  parrot-feather,  a  graceful  foliage- 
plant  ;  and  Pistia  stratiodes,  or  water-lettuce,  a  float- 
ing plant  like  the  duck-weeds. 

The  following  are  not  merely  desirable  for  an 
aquarium  kept  in  the  house  but  have  the  additional 
advantage  of  being  hardy :  Alisma  plantago,  or  water- 
plantain,  with  pale  rose  blossoms;  Juneus  variegatus, 
or  variegated  rush,  a  very  striking  plant  which  grows 
both  in  and  out  of  the  water;  Limnanthemum  lacun- 
osum,  or  floating-heart,  a  white-flowered  plant;  Men- 
zanthes  trifoliata,  a  three-lobed,  white-blossomed 
aquatic;  and  Scirpus  variegatus  or  variegated  Siber- 
ian rush. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
CULTURE  AND  CABE  OF  GOLDFISH 

THE  house  aquarium  and  the  goldfish  are  so 
closely  linked  in  the  minds  of  the  great  major- 
ity of  persons,  that  it  seems  fitting  that  in  deal- 
ing with  aquarium  life  first  attention  be  given 
this  member  of  the  minnow  family.  It  orig- 
inated with  the  Chinese  in  remote  antiquity, 
and  was  introduced  into  Europe  between  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  and  into  this  country 
early  in  the  19th  century.  It  has  been  pro- 
duced from  the  Crucian  carp,  an  Asiatic  fish 
of  the  family,  after  centuries  of  careful  selec- 
tion and  breeding,  and  is  therefore  one  of  the 
minnows. 

The  original  colour  of  the  Crucian  carp  is 
olive-brown,  and  when  the  young  are  hatched, 
and  for  some  weeks  after,  they  possess  this  hue 
of  their  primal  ancestors.  The  goldfish  also 
affords  a  striking  example  in  another  way  of 

252 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  253 

the  instability  of  varieties  developed  from  nat- 
ural forms,  although  bred  and  selected  with 
the  greatest  care  for  centuries;  for  if  goldfish 
are  left  to  themselves,  as  in  an  open  pond,  they 
will  degenerate  more  or  less  rapidly  and  grad- 
ually revert  to  the  original  form  and  coloura- 
tion of  the  Crucian  carp.  Moreover,  a  large 
proportion  of  fish  hatched  never  do  change 
from  their  sombre  dress  and  take  on  the 
brilliant  colour  so  much  desired. 

Many  of  the  grotesque  forms  which  mark  some  of 
the  popular  types  of  goldfish  are  the  outcome  of  cen- 
turies of  laborious  work  by  the  patient,  persevering 
and  ingenious  Japanese,  in  taking  advantage  of  some 
curious  freak  of  nature. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  if  fish-eggs  be  given 
a  jarring  at  a  certain  stage,  or,  more  specifically, 
about  the  "eyeing"  period,  monstrosities  may  be  pro- 
duced. This  occurs  frequently  among  brook-trout, 
the  most  common  irregularities  being  hump-back  and 
looped.  It  is  said  that  when  the  Japanese  discovered 
this  peculiarity  they  selected  a  pair  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced monstrosities,  similar  in  form,  reared  them 
and  bred  from  them.  The  most  marked  of  the  prog- 
eny were  again  selected  and  bred,  and  this  process 
continued  until  a  desired  type  was  produced  and 
fairly  fixed  by  hatching  without  the  jarring.  Thus 


254  FISH  CULTURE 

were  produced  the  fringe-tails,  the  balloon  shape,  the 
telescope,  and  some  other  of  the  outlandish  forms 
seen  in  aquariums. 

Fanciers  have  one  or  all  three  points  in  view 
when  breeding  so  called  fancy  goldfish:  The 
development  of  rounded  form;  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fins ;  and  the  development  of  colour 
and  markings.  In  the  endeavour  to  attain 
these  features,  they  have  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  until  there  are  now  but  two  distinct 
classes,  those  with  elongated  and  those  with 
rounded  bodies ;  and  it  has  become  exceedingly 
difficult  to  subdivide  one  of  these  classes  into 
clearly  defined  types.  Nearly  every  variety 
has  one  or  more  pronounced  features  of  an- 
other. It  is  among  the  multiple-tailed  forms, 
however,  that  the  greatest  amount  of  selective 
breeding  has  been  done.  Colour-effects  have 
been  specially  sought  for,  with  calicos,  blues, 
Moors,  bronzes,  whites,  reds-and-whites,  and 
other  combinations  as  results.  There  need  be 
no  surprise,  if,  within  a  few  years,  a  pale  green 
fish  be  added  to  the  list. 

Varieties. — The  following  is  a  nearly  com- 
plete list  of  the  different  varieties  of  goldfishes 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  255 

known  to  Americans  and  to  be  purchased  of  all 
dealers  carrying  a  varied  stock. 

Commons:  There  are  two  varieties  of  the  common 
goldfish,  the  American  and  the  European.  Both  have 
elongated  bodies,  but  the  European  is  more  slender, 
with  flatter  sides  and  a  very  deep  fork  in  the  tail-fin. 
The  American  variety  has  a  decided  arch  in  the  front 
dorsal  line,  while  the  European  has  a  back  but  little 
arched.  The  colour  varies  from  deep  orange  yellow  to 
white  and  from  black  to  light  bronze.  Commons  of 
particular  colours,  crossed  with  Japanese,  have  res- 
suited  in  many  peculiarly  hued  fishes. 

Comet:  This  is  considered  by  many  as  one  of  the 
most  graceful  of  the  goldfishes,  although  not  a  favour- 
ite among  fanciers,  who  regard  rounded,  egg-shaped 
bodies  as  the  perfection  of  beauty.  It  is  of  American 
origin,  having  been  produced  by  Hugh  Mullertt,  of 
New  York,  in  1889.  It  has  a  long  slender  body  and  a 
single  tail,  somewhat  longer  than  the  body,  which 
usually  droops  gracefully  in  fully  matured  specimens, 
but  in  the  younger  it  is  held  straight  from  the  body. 
The  dorsal,  ventral,  pectoral  and  anal  fins  are  all  of 
great  length,  the  dorsal  being  nearly  two-thirds  the 
length  of  the  fish. 

Nymph:  A  nymph  is  similar  to  a  comet,  excepting 
that  its  body  is  short  and  rounded  more  in  conformity 
with  the  general  idea  of  beauty  in  goldfishes.  The 
color  is  a  rich,  dark,  reddish  gold. 


256  FISH  CULTURE 

Fan-tail:  Herman  T.  Wolf,  in  his  admirable  work 
on  goldfish  breeds,  has  given  such  a  clear  description 
of  the  fan-tail,  that  I  feel  I  can  do  no  better  than  to 
reproduce  it.  He  says:  "The  fan-tail  is  a  scaled, 
short-bodied  fish,  very  thick,  round-backed  and  deep 
bellied,  of  almost  oval  outline;  its  body  being  best 
described  as  of  short  pumpkin-seed  form,  with  the 
horizontal  longer  diameter  of  slightly  greater  length 
than  a  true  oval.  ...  It  has  a  short,  broad  head,  dis- 
tinctly hog-nosed,  a  large  mouth  with  full  lips,  erect 
nostrils,  and  eyes  like  the  ordinary  goldfish  but  larger. 
The  long  and  erect  dorsal  fin  sits  far  back  on  the  spine, 
all  the  other  fins  being  paired ;  the  pectorals  and  ven- 
trals  are  long  and  pendant,  the  double  anal  fins  are 
long  and  extend  almost  straight  backward,  while  the 
broad  double  tail,  which  is  the  principal  characteristic 
of  the  fish,  is  divided  quite  to  the  base,  and  the  two 
distinct  tails  stand  directly  vertical  on  the  same  plane 
and  are  carried  straight  out  behind  the  body  without 
the  least  drop  or  droop;  the  upper  and  lower  lobes 
being  of  exactly  the  same  length  so  that  a  perpendicu- 
lar line  from  the  end  of  the  upper  will  exactly  touch 
the  lower  lobe  on  each  side.  .  .  .  The  perfectly  de- 
veloped fan-tail  (when  viewed  from  the  rear)  has  the 
appearance  of  having  two  separate  single  tails  placed 
side  by  side.  The  tail  of  the  fan-tail  never  exceeds 
the  body  in  length."  A  fan-tailed  goldfish  of  fuU 
blood  is  of  a  rich  golden  red,  with  rather  large  scales 
which  shine  like  burnished  metal.  At  one  time  the 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  257 

fan-tail  was  among  the  commonest  of  the  fine  breeds, 
but  the  variety  has  been  crossed  and  recrossed  to  such 
an  extent  that  a  pure  fan-tail  is  now  comparatively 
scarce. 

Fringe-tail:  A  fringe-tail  is  one  of  the  most  gor- 
geous of  aquarium  fishes.  It  is  perfection  in  beauty, 
grace  and  richness  of  colour.  Mr.  Wolf  says  of  it: 
"The  long  lace-like  tail  and  fins,  the  rich,  burnished, 
metallic  lustre,  the  marvellous  brilliancy  of  colour,  the 
finely  modelled  form  and  the  perfection  of  graceful 
movement,  are  truly  typified  in  this  justly  prized  fish. ' ' 
A  perfect  fringe-tail  has  a  short  and  almost  truly 
oval  body,  with  a  short  head.  The  caudal  fin,  which 
is  double  and  at  least  two  and  one-half  times  longer 
than  the  body,  droops  in  graceful  diaphanous  folds. 
The  ventrals,  pectorals,  and  double  anal,  are  all  very 
long  and  pendant.  The  dorsal,  the  crowning  glory 
of  a  fringe-tail,  is  arched  high  in  front  and  curves 
evenly  downward  towards  the  caudal.  The  scales  are 
small  and  of  a  rich,  red,  shining,  gold  colour.  From 
fringe-tails  were  developed  ribbon-tails  and  veil- 
tails. 

Ribbon-tail:  The  chief  difference  between  a  rib- 
bon-tail and  a  fringe-tail  is  that  the  caudals  are  each 
divided  for  nearly  or  quite  the  whole  length  into  rib- 
bon-like parts. 

Veil-tail:  A  veil-tail  is  extremely  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish from  a  fringe-tail.  The  caudal  is  more 
voluminous,  and  is  decidedly  more  diaphanous  and 


258  FISH  CULTURE 

veil-like,  so  that  when  the  fish  is  moving  through  tHe 
water  the  tails  wave  and  swing.: 

Squaretail:  A  squaretail  is  almost  identical  with  a 
fringe-tail,  but  the  lower  edges  of  the  tails"  have  no 
indentations. 

Tripod:  A  tripod  has  a  so-called  third  tail-fin:  the 
two  lower  parts  project  like  the  sloping  roof  of  a  house 
and  the  upper  is  like  a  ridge  above  it. 

Scaleless  goldfishes  are  found  in  all  varieties, 
but  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  scaleless 
sort  are  pinkish  or  white,  and  they  are  much 
more  tender  than  the  scaled  fishes.  They  are 
more  liable  to  disease,  particularly  bladder 
trouble,  but  are  favourites  among  fish-fanciers. 
A  scaleless  goldfish  possesses  scales,  but  they 
are  covered  by  a  skin.  Among  them  are  the 
following : 

Telescope:  This  variety  is  so-called  because  its  eyes 
protrude  far  beyond  the  sides  of  its  head.  In  some 
the  eyes  are  shaped  like  spheres,  in  others  are  ovoid, 
or  like  truncated  cones,  or  segmented  spheres,  or  the 
eyes  may  protrude  upwards.  The  telescope  originated 
in  China,  but  was  developed  to  its  highest  point  in 
Japan,  and  fanciers  have  produced  them  in  nearly 
every  variety,  so  that  there  will  be  found  telescope 
fringe-tails,  fan-tails,  and  so  forth. 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  259 

Celestial:  If  there  were  oculists  among  goldfishes, 
the  celestials  would  probably  be  among  the  first  and 
most  profitable  patients,  for  this  variety  is  afflicted 
with  defective  eyesight.  It  is  a  telescope  having 
spheroid  eyes,  but  instead  of  their  facing  from  the 
sides  of  the  head  as  in  other  fishes,  they  are  upturned 
towards  heaven,  whence  the  name  "celestial,"  a  name 
further  appropriate  from  the  fact  that  it  originated 
among  the  Chinese.  They  are  pretty  eyes  neverthe- 
less, for  the  small,  dark  pupils  are  surrounded  by 
large  clear  yellow  irises.  The  celestial  has  another 
unusual  characteristic,  namely,  that  it  is  without  a 
dorsal  fin.  This  gives  the  back  a  queer  barrel-like 
appearance.  Added  to  these  oddities  are  two  more — 
a  disposition  to  swim  near  the  surface  with  its  pop- 
eyes  out  of  the  water,  and  an  apparent  stupidity. 
There  is  little  or  no  activity  about  the  fish,  any  one 
can  take  it  in  the  hand  without  a  struggle,  and  it  may 
be  guided  anywhere  in  an  aquarium  by  gently  pressing 
a  stick  against  its  sides.  The  head  is  very  short  and 
with  only  the  suspicion  of  a  snout.  The  body  is  egg- 
shaped,  tapering  towards  the  tail.  The  colour  is  a  pale 
reddish  gold.  The  pectorals,  ventrals  and  anal  are 
all  pendant,  but  short.  The  caudal  resembles  that  of 
a  young  fringe-tail.  It  is  said  that  in  China,  the 
celestial  is  regarded  as  a  sacred  fish  and  kept  in  many 
of  the  oriental  temples.  It  is  a  very  difficult  fish  to 
keep,  and  is  therefore  not  found  frequently  among 
either  breeders  or  in  private  aquaria. 


260  FISH  CULTURE 

Lion-Head:  The  lion-head  or  hooded  goldfish  is  as 
yet  an  exceedingly  rare  fish  in  the  United  States,  al- 
though well-known  among  the  ^Japanese.  Its  origin 
is  disputed,  some  crediting  it  to  Japan  and  some  to 
Korea.  Whichever  its  native  place,  the  lion-head  is 
certainly  a  very  grotesque  fish.  It  is  nearly  globular 
in  form,  red  in  colour  and  without  a  dorsal.  It  has  a 
long  double  caudal,  very  similar  to  a  fringe-tail,  but 
with  rather  short  pendant  pectorals,  ventrals  and  anal. 
When  the  fish  is  two  years  old,  the  short  head  becomes 
covered  by  a  hood-like  excrescence  of  crimson,  due  to 
the  growth  of  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  of  small 
rounded  tubercles,  evenly  covering  the  whole  head  and 
throat.  As  age  increases  the  tubercles  develop  until 
they  become  long  and  hair-like,  slightly  resembling, 
excepting  in  their  crimson  colour,  the  mane  of  a  lion. 
Viewed  from  the  front,  the  face  of  the  fish,  when  the 
hood  is  full  grown,  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  king  of 
beasts.  In  younger  specimens,  while  the  tubercles  are 
yet  short,  the  growth  has  the  appearance  of  an  old 
woman's  hood,  or  the  be-whiskered  face  of  the  con- 
ventional hobo  of  the  cartoonists. 

Calico:  Many  consider  the  calico  goldfish  among 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  different  types,  excepting 
perhaps,  the  veil-tails.  It  is  a  square-tailed  telescope,1 
usually  scaleless,  with  the  head,  body,  tail  and  fins 
thickly  mottled  with  blue,  brown,  yellow,  and  red  and 
black.  Like  most  of  the  choice  types,  the  body  of  the 
calico  is  short  and  thick;  the  pectorals,  ventrals  and 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  261 

anals  long  and  pendant.  The  dorsal  is  high  and  starts 
on  the  top  of  the  arch  of  the  body,  which  is  midway  of 
the  head  and  tail.  The  tail,  which  extends  from  the 
vent  to  the  caudal  fin,  is  merely  a  stump. 

Blue  Telescope:  Much  attention  has  been  given  in 
recent  years  to  the  development  of  this  beautiful  fish. 
The  back  and  upper  sides  are  a  velvety  ultramarine 
blue,  shading  into  a  metallic  reddish  blue  on  the  lower 
sides.  The  abdomen  is  white  or  greyish  white.  The 
double  caudal  and  dorsal  fins  are  dark  bluish  brown 
or  black,  and  the  other  fins  dusky  grey  or  brown.  It 
has  a  short,  plump  body.  It  usually  requires  a  strong 
light  to  distinguish  the  blue  from  the  black  telescope. 

Black  Telescope :  Less  than  ten  years  ago  the  black 
telescope,  or  moor,  was  a  rare  fish  in  this  country. 
It  was  an  importation  from  China,  and  came  immedi- 
ately into  deserved  popularity,  on  account  of  its  bril- 
liant black  colour,  beautiful  form  and  graceful  move- 
ments. But  many  persons  have  been  disappointed  in 
their  specimens  because  after  a  time  they  lost  their  in- 
tense black  colour  and  took  on  a  reddish  hue.  This 
change  is  usually  due  to  the  infusion  of  another  strain 
by  accidental  or  intentional  crossing.  The  whole  body 
of  a  pure  and  mature  black  telescope,  and  the  head, 
fins  and  eyes  are  a  deep  blue  black  of  an  even  shade, 
as  rich  as  the  finest  black  velvet. 

Pleasure  and  Profit. — Goldfish  can  be  made 
the  source  of  considerable  profit  and  much  in- 


262  FISH  CULTURE 

terest.  The  business  may  be  conducted  suc- 
cessfully with  fair  profit  in  the  house  in  which 
one  dwells,  or  on  a  much  larger  scale  in  a 
greenhouse,  and  in  open-air  ponds.  Between 
5,000  and  10,000  salable  goldfish  may  be  reared 
in  one  room  of  a  dwelling-house  if  the  light  and 
heat  conditions  are  suitable.  There  are  two 
thousand  or  more  persons,  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia alone,  who  raise  goldfish  for  profit  in 
their  homes  during  their  leisure  hours.  One 
of  them  informed  me  that  he  annually  cleared 
from  $200  to  $300  from  the  stock  he  raises  in 
his  sitting-room.  Another  said  that  his  net  re- 
ceipts were  between  $300  and  $500  each  year. 
Several  men  now  devote  their  entire  time  to  the 
work  as  a  successful  commercial  enterprise. 
One  devotes  his  sitting-room,  cellar,  roof  and 
back  yard,  to  it,  and  it  is  said  that  his  yearly 
profits  exceed  $3,000. 

Aside  from  a  desire  to  make  money,  the 
owners  of  aquaria  will  find  their  pleasure 
greatly  increased  if  they  rear  young  from  their 
goldfish.  By  exercising  ordinary  care  and  by 
the  observation  of  a  few  simple  rules,  a  person 
may  increase  his  stock  by  the  use  of  two  aquaria 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  263 

and  one  or  two  small  vessels  as  for  example, 
a  small  wash-tub. 

Spawning  Habits. — Goldfish  begin  spawning 
usually  early  in  the  spring.  If  there  be  main- 
tained from  the  beginning  of  cold  weather  a 
water-temperature  of  70  or  75  degrees,  gold- 
fish will  begin  to  spawn  early  in  February  and 
sometimes  the  latter  part  of  January.  If  the 
water-temperature  be  held  at  60  degrees  or 
thereabouts,  throughout  the  winter,  no  eggs 
will  be  deposited  before  April  or  May,  or,  until 
a  suitable  warmth  is  imparted  to  the  water. 
Where  an  aquarium  is  not  exposed  to  the  sun- 
light for  several  hours  every  day,  I  have  known 
goldfish  to  go  throughout  the  season  without 
spawning.  Peculiarities  in  the  fish  themselves 
also  cause  great  variations  in  the  time,  espe- 
cially when  there  is  a  considerable  number  of 
fish.  In  such  cases  some  females  will  begin  to 
spawn  in  February  or  before,  while  others  will 
be  far  later,  even  on  into  August.  Early 
spawning  is  greatly  to  be  desired  for  several 
reasons.  The  early  hatch  will  all  develop  their 
colour  by  early  summer;  the  stock  by  autumn 
will  grow  almost  if  not  quite  equal  in  size  to 


264  FISH  CULTURE 

yearlings  hatched  in  June  or  July;  all  the  weak 
will  have  been  weeded  out  by  sorting  or  death ; 
and  the  perfect  specimens  can  be  determined 
and  separated  from  the  others,  to  be  kept  for 
breeding  purposes  or  big  prices  while  the 
others  go  to  market. 

The  approach  of  spawning-time  is  heralded 
by  males  chasing  the  females  about  the  aqua- 
rium. It  is  then  advisable  to  remove  from  the 
tank  those  which  show  signs  of  breeding,  and 
place  them  in  a  receptacle  by  themselves.  A 
breeding-tank  should  be  arranged  the  same  as 
a  regular  aquarium  except  that  there  must  be 
many  more  plants,  so  many  more  that  the  fish 
will  almost  have  to  push  themselves  between 
the  stalks.  Breeders  do  not  all  follow  the  same 
practice  with  respect  to  the  proportion  of  males 
and  females  which  they  place  in  the  breeding- 
tank,  but  the  majority  introduce  more  males 
than  females.  This  is  done  for  a  variety  of 
reasons,  two  of  which  are  to  ascertain  which 
is  the  best  "chaser"  or  "driver,"  and  to  incite 
the  males  to  rivalry  and  a  little  quicker  action. 
Some  breeders  place  the  breeding  fish  in  the 
tank  in  the  proportion  of  one  female  to  two 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  265 

males,  others  two  females  to  three  males,  and 
others  again  in  the  proportion  of  three  females 
to  five  males.  I  feel  that  one  female  to  two 
males  is  the  most  satisfactory  practice. 

Fanciers  select  the  breeders  with  great  care, 
and  with  a  well  defined  object  in  view.  It  is 
the  male  which  is  most  likely  to  stamp  its  char- 
acteristics on  the  young,  hence  particular  at- 
tention is  given  to  his  selection.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  when  a  choice  female  is  ready  for 
spawning,  the  desired  male  either  is  not  quite 
ready,  or  if  ready,  is  a  sluggish  driver.  In 
that  case  it  is  advantageous  to  place  the  two  in 
a  tank  and  with  them  an  inferior  grade  of  male 
but  one  that  is  an  active  "chaser."  The 
ardent  driving  of  the  inferior  fish  often  ex- 
cites the  more  desirable  male  to  quicker  action. 
When  this  is  done,  however,  a  very  sharp  watch 
must  be  kept  on  the  three  fish,  and  the  unde- 
sirable male  removed  before  actual  spawning 
takes  place ;  otherwise  the  hatch  of  young  may 
be  disappointing.  About  spawning  time,  males 
may  easily  be  distinguished  both  by  the  "  chas- 
ing" and  by  a  number  of  whitish  spots  which 
appear  on  the  gill-covers,  but  at  other  times 


266  FISH  CULTUEE 

of  the  year  sex-distinction  is  sometimes  diffi- 
cult. As  is  the  case  with  many  other  species 
of  fish,  the  favourite  hours  for  spawning  are 
those  of  darkness,  usually  those  which  just  pre- 
cede dawn.  With  the  advancing  season,  how- 
ever, daylight  spawning  becomes  more  fre- 
quent. Only  a  few  eggs  are  deposited  at  one 
time,  and  it  sometimes  requires  several  weeks 
for  the  female  to  discharge  them  all. 

Treatment  of  Eggs. — Goldfishes'  eggs  are 
very  small,  very  light  and  very  adhesive.  They 
are  so  light  that  if  free  in  the  water,  it  requires 
nearly  half  an  hour  before  they  will  sink  many 
inches,  and  they  will  not  hatch  if  they  get  very 
many  inches  below  the  surface.  With  grasses 
planted  thickly  in  the  breeding-tank,  however, 
the  eggs  cannot  fall  very  far  without  touching 
roots,  leaves  or  stems,  and  the  slightest  touch 
is  sufficient  to  fasten  them  firmly.  These  eggs 
are  plainly  visible,  because  they  are  pearly 
white. 

When  spawning  begins  the  fancier  should  at 
least  once  a  day  remove  from  the  tank  all 
plants  that  may  have  eggs  attached  to  them, 
because  if  the  eggs  are  allowed  to  remain  the 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  267 

mature  fish  will  soon  begin  to  eat  them.  These 
egg-bearing  plants  should  be  placed  in  pans 
filled  with  water  of  precisely  the  same  tempera- 
ture as  that  of  the  tank  from  which  they  are 
taken.  Set  the  pan  containing  the  eggs  in  a 
window  where  sunlight  can  fall  upon  it  and 
leave  it  there  until  after  the  eggs  hatch. 

Eggs  of  the  common  goldfish  may  be  as  easily 
pressed  from  the  female  as  from  the  trout,  but  are 
troublesome  to  hatch.  This  cannot  be  done  by  the  jar 
method  on  account  of  their  excessive  buoyancy.  The 
only  known  success  was  achieved  by  J.  R.  Berkhous, 
who  placed  the  eggs  on  a  wet  flannel  tray  and  sub- 
merged them  in  only  four  inches  of  water,  admitted 
in  only  a  slight  dribble.  Nearly  every  egg  hatched. 

'Arrangements  for  Commercial  Propagation. 
— A  person  who  desires  to  go  into  the  cultiva- 
tion of  goldfish  on  a  large  scale  should  have 
commodious  quarters,  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  fish,  such  as  glass  houses  and 
outside  ponds.  A  glass  house  is  only  another 
name  for  a  greenhouse  such  as  a  florist  uses 
for  forcing  plants,  and  it  should  be  heated  with 
hot  water,  well  ventilated  and  furnished  with 
concrete  tanks.  A  house  20  feet  wide  permits 


268  FISH  CULTUEE 

the  construction  of  three  rows  of  concrete  tanks 
and  two  walks;  two  and  a  half  feet  will  be  a 
sufficient  depth  for  the  tanks,  with  three  feet 
inside  measurement  for  the  width,  and  four 
inches  will  be  a  sufficient  thickness  for  the  con- 
crete walls.  Each  tank,  which  will  extend  the 
length  of  the  house,  can  be  divided  into  sec- 
tions of  varying  lengths,  from  six  to  twelve  or 
more  feet.  Both  for  adornment  and  utility  it 
would  be  advisable  to  have  soil  on  each  side  of 
the  tanks  in  which  to  grow  plants  that  like 
moist  places.  An  ample  discharge-pipe  should 
be  set  in  each  section,  so  that  water  can  be 
drawn  off  quickly  if  desired,  and  so  that  con- 
stant running  water  can  be  had  in  any  one  sec- 
tion at  a  time.  A  one-inch  inflow  pipe  will 
furnish  plenty  of  water. 

Outside  ponds  are  important,  even  where  a 
glass  house  is  used.  The  commons  will  live 
well  outside  throughout  the  year,  and  so  will 
some  of  the  choice  Japanese  and  Chinese 
types,  notably  those  with  scales.  Ponds  are 
useful  also  to  hold  some  of  the  fish  hatched  in- 
side very  early  in  the  season,  transferring 
them  about  May,  or  when  the  water-tempera- 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  269 

ture  is  suitable,  that  is  to  say  between  65  and 
70  degrees.  Large  ponds  are  not  needed. 
Eight  or  ten,  thirty  or  forty  feet  long  each,  and 
about  half  that  wide,  will  be  found  much  more 
convenient  and  serve  the  purpose  of  the  plant 
better  than  two  with  the  same  area  in  the  aggre- 
gate. A  pond  or  two  100  by  50  feet,  would  be 
suitable  for  commons,  and  would  hold  enough 
young  fish  to  supply  a  large  town. 

No  pond  ought  to  be  built  in  any  shaded  spot 
nor  exceed  a  water-depth  of  18  inches.  Im- 
portant features  in  goldfish  culture  for  profit 
are  rapidity  of  growth  and  transition  of  the 
greatest  number  of  the  young  from  olive  to 
gold  in  the  shortest  space  of  time.  Therefore 
the  ponds  ought  to  be  in  the  open  where  the 
light  is  strong,  and  be  shallow  so  that  the  tem- 
perature from  the  surface  to  the  bottom  can 
be  raised  quickly  and  be  fairly  even  through- 
out. 

To  secure  otherwise  a  proper  temperature, 
the  flow  of  a  spring  should  not  be  used,  or  at 
least  not  until  the  temperature  has  been  raised. 
Water  from  a  creek,  or  some  source  from  which 
coldness  has  departed,  is  best;  and  a  contin- 


270  FISH  CULTUEE 

uous  inflow  and  outflow  for  either  brood-fish 
ponds  or  fry-ponds  is  not  imperative  if  they 
contain  plants. 

Feeding. — The  feeding  of  adult  fish  is  not  as 
difficult  as  might  be  imagined.  Of  course  the 
very  best  food  is  daphnia,  which  can  generally 
be  secured  in  still-water  ponds  in  which  there 
are  no  fish.  I  believe  there  would  be  compara- 
tively little  difficulty  in  raising  daphnia,  by  coat- 
ing the  bottom  of  the  pond  with  soil  bountifully 
mixed  with  cow  or  sheep  manure.  Dry  crumbled 
bread  makes  an  excellent  fish-food,  and  it  is 
not  a  difficult  matter  to  secure  recipes  for  pre- 
pared foods.  The  following  is  said  to  be  ex- 
cellent: One  handful  of  earth  worms;  half  a 
pound  of  salt  cod-fish  boiled;  one  ounce  fresh 
ant-eggs ;  one  ounce  of  fibre  meat ;  two  eggs  un- 
cooked, including  the  shells ;  one  pound  of  corn 
meal,  very  fine;  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  rice 
flour,  very  fine ;  one  package  of  gem  of  wheat ; 
a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  yellow  pea  flour ;  quar- 
ter-ounce of  table  salt;  quarter-ounce  of  epsom 
salts;  one  cup  of  ox  blood  and  one  pint  of 
daphnia.  Chop  the  worms  very  fine ;  crush  the 
shells  of  the  eggs  to  powder;  mix  the  various 


CAEE  OP  GOLDFISH  271 

ingredients  and  dry  them  in  an  oven,  stirring 
constantly  so  that  the  mixture  will  not  burn 
until  it  is  granulated.  The  smell  during  the 
process  of  baking  is  unpleasant.  When 
thoroughly  dry  it  can  be  broken  up  into  fine 
particles. 

Care  of  Sick  Goldfish. — A  few  years  ago,  the 
only  remedy  known  to  the  average  goldfish 
breeder  in  America  was  salt.  To-day,  every 
up-to-date  fancier  possesses  an  outfit  of  drugs, 
important  among  which  are  crushed  rock-salt, 
epsom  salts,  castor  oil,  permanganate  of  potas- 
sium, peroxide  of  hydrogen,  boracic  acid,  car- 
bolic acid,  salicylic  acid,  coal  oil,  turpentine, 
copperas,  and  balsams.  Some  of  these  drugs 
are  merely  used  as  antiseptics  and  fungicides, 
and  some,  notably  carbolic  acid,  are  extremely 
dangerous  to  use.  Probably  the  most  effec- 
tive and  best  fungicide  is  permanganate  of 
potassium.  A  small  quantity  of  a  strong  solu- 
tion of  its  crystals  may  be  poured  into  the  tank 
containing  the  fish ;  but  the  amount  should  only 
be  sufficient  to  colour  the  water  a  pale  cerise. 
If  the  tank  is  still-water,  it  should  be  siphoned 
off  after  fifteen  minutes.  If  fungus  or  bacteria 


272  FISH  CULTUEE 

infest  the  tank,  remove  the  fish  and  put  in  a 
strong  solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium 
and  leave  it  there  for  a  day.  The  water  may 
then  be  drawn  off  and  the  tank  washed  out  and 
the  fish  given  a  bath  in  the  washings.  Fish 
will  stand  permanganate  of  potassium  much 
better  than  is  generally  supposed.  I  had  a 
very  convincing  proof  of  this  recently.  More 
than  a  handful  of  crystals  of  permanganate  of 
potassium  got  scattered  by  accident  in  a  tank 
containing  120  gallons  of  running  water  and 
twenty-four  long-eared  sun-fish.  This  hap- 
pened in  the  evening.  The  next  morning,  al- 
though there  had  been  a  constant  flow  all  night, 
the  water  in  the  tank  was  bright  red-purple. 
Three  fish  were  dead,  and  the  remainder 
showed  very  slight  signs  of  life.  All  with  any 
life  in  them  were  placed  in  fresh  running  water 
into  which  much  air  was  forced.  Twenty-four 
hours  later  all  except  four  had  recovered,  ap- 
parently none  the  worse  for  the  terrible  experi- 
ence. 

Signs  of  Illness. — In  the  majority  of  cases 
where  the  water-temperature  is  right  and  the 
water  itself  pure,  if  fish  die  suddenly  it  is  the 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  273 

fault  of  the  person  supposed  to  care  for  the 
aquarium.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  receive  a 
plaint  something  like  this:  "I  cannot  under- 
stand it.  I  have  no  luck  with  goldfish.  I  give 
them  the  best  of  care  and  feed  them  every  day, 
yet  they  die."  In  this  speech  is  to  be  found 
the  crux  of  the  whole  trouble.  Goldfish  are 
liable  to  become  diseased  if  too  solicitously 
cared  for.  Persons  inclined  to  neglect  goldfish, 
and  leave  them  to  themselves,  are  more  likely 
to  achieve  success  in  preserving  them  alive  than 
he  who  coddles  and  pets  them.  Over-feeding, 
frequent  handling,  and  even  much  changing  of 
water,  are  very  apt  to  produce  disease  and 
death. 

A  perfectly  healthy  goldfish  always  holds  its 
dorsal  fins  extended,  and  all  the  other  fins  are 
flexible,  work  freely  and  possess  a  clean,  trans- 
lucent appearance,  plainly  showing  their  struc- 
ture. The  gill-covers  are  closely  shut  conceal- 
ing the  gills,  and  the  body  has  a  bright  polished 
appearance,  with  the  colours  clear  and  distinct. 
People  sometimes  think  that  when  goldfish  seek 
the  surface,  remaining  in  a  slightly  inclined 
position  and  working  their  mouths  partly  in 


274  FISH  CULTUBE 

and  partly  out  of  the  water,  they  are  sick,  and 
that  the  water  needs  changing;  but  this  is  not 
necessarily  the  case.  Healthy  fish  often  come 
to  the  surface  on  a  cloudy,  dull  day,  and  are 
simply  seeking  minute  food,  vegetable  or  ani- 
mal, which  may  be  on  the  surface.  Neither  is 
a  sluggish  movement  a  positive  or  certain  sign 
that  they  are  ill,  nor  is  activity  always  a  sign 
of  health.  When  the  dorsal  fin  droops,  and 
other  fins  become  opaque,  or  seem  to  be  coated 
or  inflamed,  or  closed,  or  held  close  to  the  body, 
or  when  the  colour  of  the  sides  fades,  and  the 
gill-covers  expand  above  swollen  gills,  then  the 
fish  is  sick  and  needs  treatment.  If  the  disease 
is  an  incurable  one,  kill  the  fish  at  once. 

At  the  first  signs  of  distress  they  should 
promptly  be  given  a  salt  bath.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances use  table  salt,  as  the  process  used 
in  its  preparation  for  the  market  is  unhealthy 
for  fish  life.  The  best  is  crushed  rock-salt, 
which  can  be  obtained  from  any  grocery  store, 
and  is  the  same  as  that  used  when  making  ice- 
cream. 

The  Hospital  Tank. — Sometimes  other  meth- 
ods are  necessary.  In  that  case  the  sick  fish 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  275 

should  be  removed  to  a  " hospital  tank"  for 
isolation  and  special  care.  It  should  be  of  sucH 
a  form  as  to  have  a  glass  surface  in  all  direc- 
tions, so  as  to  admit  all  the  light  possible.  To 
prepare  a  hospital  tank,  first  sterilise  it  by  the 
use  of  salt  water  and  then  by  permanganate  of 
potassium.  Put  two  inches  of  sand,  or  a  little 
more,  in  the  bottom  and  plant  anacharis  and 
one  or  two  other  aquatic  grasses.  Fill  the  tank 
with  perfectly  clean  unfiltered  water,  and  set 
it  in  a  bright  warm  sunny  spot.  If  at  the  end 
of  a  few  days  the  water  remains  clear  and 
sweet  smelling,  no  further  attention  need  be 
paid  to  it.  Green  algae  will  presently  begin  to 
form  on  the  glass  and  in  the  water,  but  do  not 
disturb  it,  for  the  growth  is  a  certification  of 
water-purity,  and  its  presence  makes  the  hospi- 
tal tank  ready  for  service.  The  temperature 
of  the  water  ought  never  to  be  below  70  degrees 
nor  above  80  degrees.  Fish  placed  in  a  hos- 
pital tank  should  be  deprived  of  food,  if  pos- 
sible for  the  entire  period  of  confinement.  Fa- 
mine for  a  month  is  not  too  much  in  some 
cases.  The  sunlight  must  play  on  the  tank  for 
as  much  of  the  day  as  possible,  and  the  green 


276  FISH  CULTURE 

algas  be  allowed  to  accumulate  without  hin- 
drance. 

Diseases  and  Remedies. — For  ordinary  indis- 
positions the  salt  bath  may  first  be  tried.  One 
way  is  to  make  a  solution  so  strong  that  it  is  bit- 
ter to  the  taste,  and  leave  the  fish  in  it  until 
it  turns  on  its  side.  Then  transfer  it  quickly 
to  a  pan  or  bucket  containing  fresh  water.  The 
fish  will  soon  revive  and  perhaps  exhibit  some 
signs  of  animation,  on  the  disappearance  of 
which  replace  it  in  the  salt  water.  Eepeat  the 
operation  a  number  of  times,  after  which  it  may 
be  placed  in  the  hospital  tank  for  a  day  or  so, 
or  returned  to  the  aquarium.  This  treatment 
is  but  for  fungus.  The  temperature  of  the  salt 
water  must  not  be  lower  than  the  fresh  to  which 
it  has  been  accustomed.  Another  course  is  to 
make  a  salt-solution  so  mild  as  to  be  scarcely 
detected  by  the  taste,  and  put  the  fish  in  it  for 
several  days.  The  vessel  containing  the  mild 
salt-solution  should  be  set  in  a  well  ventilated, 
light  and  warm  place,  and  the  patient  should  be 
given  no  food,  and,  after  feeding  is  resumed, 
but  very  small  quantities.  Salt  is  generally  ef- 
ficacious with  asphyxia  and  the  itch.  Asphyxia 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  277 

is  due  to  inflamed  gills,  caused  by  poisonous 
gases  or  sudden  changes  of  temperature  in  the 
water.  Itch  is  common  during  the  winter 
months,  seldom  in  summer,  and  is  supposed  to 
be  the  result  of  microscopic  parasites ;  a  whitish 
substance,  first  noticed  on  the  back  near  the 
head,  rapidly  coats  the  fish  until  the  affected 
parts  lose  their  brilliant  colour  and  become  dark 
or  black.  An  infected  fish  will  rub  itself  against 
the  pebbles  or  sand  on  the  bottom,  or  any  ob- 
ject which  may  be  in  the  water.  Over-feeding 
is  almost  always  the  cause  of  this  trouble,  al- 
though occasionally  it  appears  when  the  water 
is  unduly  cold. 

Fungus  is  another  common  affliction,  generally 
caused  by  the  fish  becoming  bruised  or  handled 
roughly  or  with  dry  hands.  It  is  a  parasitic 
vegetable  growth  resembling  a  cobwebby  mil- 
dew. When  a  fish  is  attacked  care  must  be  ex- 
ercised not  to  remove  it  by  rubbing,  either  out 
of  the  water  or  in  fresh  water,  as  this  pro- 
cedure will  take  along  with  it  the  scales  and  skin, 
leaving  the  flesh  exposed.  Generally  fungus 
is  easily  removable  by  placing  the  fish  in  a 
strong  solution  of  salt  water  and  then  carefully 


278  FISH  CULTURE 

sponging  the  body  while  submerged.  If  the 
case  be  severe,  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  give 
the  fish  a  wash-off  with  dioxogen,  or  even  a 
short  bath  in  a  very  mild  solution  of  perman- 
ganate of  potassium,  after  the  salt  bath  and 
sponging. 

Among  the  fatal  diseases  are  tuberculosis, 
dropsy,  bladder  disease  and  erysipelas.  The 
fancier  may  well  lose  heart  if  the  last  named 
appears,  for  it  is  reasonably  sure  that  not  one 
but  all  the  fish  in  the  aquarium  will  be  seized 
with  it  about  the  same  time.  After  stating  that 
it  is  indicated  by  what  appears  to  be  a  nervous 
restlessness  of  the  fish,  Mr.  Mullertt  graphically 
describes  diseased  fish  thus : 

"They  are  seen  swimming  with  very  quick  motions, 
darting  hither  and  thither  with  great  rapidity,  and 
with  no  other  apparent  reason  than  a  desire  to  flee 
from  their  torment,  for  it  seems  as  though  they  must 
suffer  from  muscular  pains.  After  this  extreme  ac- 
tivity, which  covers  a  period  of  several  days,  the  fishes 
(for  they  are  all  affected  at  the  same  time)  huddle  to- 
gether at  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  now  and  then  rising 
and  resuming  their  mad  capers.  The  external  ap- 
pearance in  this  case  is  characterised  by  a  closed  dor- 
sal fin,  bloody  streaks  on  all  the  fins,  which,  instead 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  279 

of  being  nicely  rounded  upon  their  extremities  as  in 
health,  become  agglutinated  and  appear  like  the 
spikes  on  a  cat-fish.  The  tissues  upon  the  spines  decay, 
the  latter  looking  like  disarranged  bristles  of  a  brush. 
This  is  the  beginning  of  the  end.  The  appetite  con- 
tinues in  good  condition,  the  fish  nevertheless  becomes 
weaker  and  weaker,  each  succeeding  day,  until  death 
takes  place." 

Bladder  disease  is  most  common  among  the 
scaleless  goldfishes  and  is  almost  invariably 
caused  by  the  water  being  too  cold.  When  a 
fish  contracts  bladder  trouble  it  is  unable  to 
maintain  a  normal  position  in  the  water,  and 
almost  without  exception  falls  into  a  vertical 
position  with  the  head  downward.  In  this 
manner  it  moves  sluggishly  and  awkwardly 
about,  often  resting  on  the  bottom.  Sometimes 
a  fish  will  live  nearly  two  years  with  the  com- 
plaint before  dying.  It  is  doubtful  whether  it 
is  curable. 

No  cure  for  tuberculosis  is  yet  known.  It 
should,  however,  be  a  preventable  disease,  for 
it  is  usually  caused  by  mismanagement  in  an 
aquarium,  especially  as  to  impure  water. 
"When  the  disease  is  contracted,  again  using  the 


280  FISH  CULTUKE 

words  of  Mr.  Mullertt:  "They  [the  fish]  are 
seen  swimming  about  in  a  careless,  purposeless 
way,  now  and  then  stopping  to  make  a  vain  at- 
tempt to  remove  something  from  their  gills  that 
annoys  them.  They  are  apparently  coughing. 
Their  appetite  decreases.  It  is  evident  that  the 
gills  are  out  of  order,  they  failing  to  take  up 
oxygen  for  the  blood."  The  fish  loses  flesh,  the 
abdomen  sinks,  the  head  seems  proportionately 
large,  and  in  shape  the  fish  becomes  what  fish- 
culturists  term  a  " spike  tail."  The  gills  show 
signs  of  decay,  the  fish  becomes  so  weak  it  can- 
not properly  balance  itself  and  finally  swims 
head  downward  and  dies. 

Dropsy  is  not  a  preventable  disease  and  is 
liable  to  appear  in  the  best  conducted  aquariums 
and  ponds.  It  is  characterised  by  a  swelling 
of  the  body,  which  begins  either  near  the  tail 
or  the  middle  and  progresses  toward  the  head. 
Its  first  appearance  is  signalised  by  a  few  scales 
included  in  a  circle,  which  lose  their  firm  at- 
tachment. Later  when  it  becomes  general  the 
body  swells  until  it  is  almost  spherical,  the 
scales  become  erect  and  the  eyes  protrude. 
Death  will  follow  in  at  least  four  months. 


CAEE  OF  GOLDFISH  281 

Goldfish  are  also  liable  to  tumour  of  the  in- 
testine, to  several  gill-troubles  and  other  ail- 
ments, one  of  the  worst  of  which  is  the  infec- 
tious tail-disease.  When  a  fish  is  infected  by 
tail-disease  or  tail-rot,  it  must  be  taken  from 
the  tank  at  once  and  put  by  itself,  and  it  should 
not  be  put  in  the  regular  hospital  tank,  but  in 
a  separate  vessel,  so  that  its  disease  germs  will 
not  infect  other  fish.  First,  however,  dip  the 
diseased  tail  in  coal  oil  or  turpentine,  and  then 
in  phenol  sodique.  This  should  be  done  at  least 
once  daily.  This  treatment  ought  in  a  few  days 
destroy  the  germs  which  rotted  the  tail.  Then 
with  a  pair  of  scissors  cut  away  the  parts  which 
were  affected,  being  careful  not  to  cut  into  the 
healthy  parts,  as  this  would  injure  the  fish 
and  perhaps  cause  an  attack  of  fungus  or  a 
renewal  of  the  tail-rot.  Later,  when  the  fish 
recovers,  the  tail  will  again  grow. 

If  the  goldfish  be  wounded,  it  should  be  given 
a  light  salt  bath  and  the  wound  touched  witH 
some  lotion  like  Turlington's  Balsam,  a  sub- 
stance something  like  artificial  skin.  A  solu- 
tion of  five  drops  of  carbolic  acid  in  a  gallon 
of  water  is  often  efficacious  for  wounds  in  fishes, 


282  FISH  CULTUEE 

but  it  is  very  dangerous  to  use  this  remedy. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  the  fish  be  left 
alone  a  minute  when  in  a  solution  of  carbolic 
acid  and  water.  The  instant  it  begins  to  turn 
over,  the  fish  must  be  removed  and  put  into 
fresh  water  or  death  will  follow  immediately. 
The  narrative  of  diseases  may  seem  very  dis- 
couraging; but  no  matter  in  what  live-stock 
business  a  man  is  engaged  the  spectre  of  disease 
must  be  reckoned  with.  A  goldfish-culturist  is 
confronted  with  less  trouble  than  the  man  who 
rears  poultry,  and  has  a  happy  time  compared 
with  the  raiser  of  bees.  Skill,  which  comes  with 
time,  love  for  the  calling,  perseverance  and 
good  stock,  will  yield  gratifying  returns  both  in 
enjoyment  and  money. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ASration  of  water,  107 
Animals,  injurious,  in  ponds, 

13,  100 
Aquarium,    construction    and 

management     of,     234-244 ; 

stocking  an,  241 
Artificial  nests,   35-43 
Automatic  feeders,  161,  189 

Barrenness  in  fish,  35 
Bass,  black,  culture  of,  3-48 
Bass,  calico,  culture  of,  50,  57 
Bass,  grass  or  calico,  50,  57 
Bass,  rock,  culture  of,  51,  57 
Bass,  striped,  culture  of,  207, 

210 
Batteries     of     hatching- jars, 

181 

Bluegill    (see  Sunfiah) 
Bullhead,  culture  of,  60 

Calico-bass,  50,  57 
Cannibalism,  41,  50,  57,  202, 

205 

Care  of  ponds,  17 
Carp,  culture  of,  70-84;  kinds 

of,  79;  value  of,  73 
Cat-fish,  culture  of,  59-69 
Cat-fish,   spotted,   59 
Cat-fish,  white,  61 


Cat-fish,  yellow,  61 
Chara  moss,  46 
Cleaning  ponds,   168 
Cribs  for  black  bass,  43 

Dams,  construction  of,  9 

Daphnia,  84,  231,  246;  rear- 
ing of,  270 

Deformities   in   fish,  253 

Diseases  of  goldfish,  271,  276; 
of  trout,  153,  155,  198 

Domestication  of  pond  fish,  33, 
165 

Eggs  of  fish,  characteristics  of, 
109;  hatching  in  jars,  185; 
of  perch,  193,  209;  separa- 
tion of  bad  eggs,  109,  142; 
treatment  of  trout,  136,  138, 
141,  151 

Embryo,  growth  of  the,  145 

Eyeing  of  eggs,  148 

False  eggs,  142 

Feathering  of  eggs,  150 

Feeding  of  black  bass,  19,  34, 
45;  of  cat-fish,  65;  of  gold- 
fish, 270;  of  trout,  108,  161, 
170 

Feeding  of  aquarium  fish,  245, 
270 


285 


286 


INDEX 


Mating  of  black  bass,  27,  30, 

34;   of  trout,   126. 
Meat,  prepared  as  food,  164, 

167 


Fertilisation    of    eggs,    artifi-      Lightning  killing  fish,   102 

cial,  131  Liver-paste,     how     prepared, 

Finger  lings,  care  of,  160,  163;  164 

defined,   160 
Floating-box,  construction  of,      Kettle   of   pond,    10 

194 
Floor  of  ponds,  treatment  of, 

6,   11,   100 

Frogs,  culture  of,  215-233 
Fry,  care  of,   38,  46,   56,  84, 

147,    165,    197;     emergence      Milk,  prepared  as  food,  164 

of,   146;   habits  of,    12,  39,      Milt    and    spermatozoa,    131, 

134 

Minnows  as  food,  22 
Muscallonge,  American  species 
Grass,    or    calico,    bass     (see          of,  203;  culture  of,  203 

(Bass) 
Goldfish,   244,   252-282;    rear-      Nests  of  black  bass,  24,  32,  35 ; 

ing    for    profit,    262,    267;  of  bullhead,  63;  of  sun-fish, 

varieties  of,  255  53 

Nest-boxes  for  black  bass,  43 
Handling  ripe  trout,  128 
Hatchery    for    trout,    equip-      Outlets  of  ponds,  13 

ment  of,   105,   111 
Hatching-boxes,     how     made, 

121 
Hospital  tank,  275 


55,  64,  151 
Fungus,  143,  153,  277 


Insects  injurious  to  fish,   17, 

231 
Introduction      of      stock      to 

ponds,  17,  29 

Jars,    hatching   fish    in,    178, 
214 

Large-mouthed  bass,  47 


Perch,  white,  culture  of,  208 
Perch,  yellow,  culture  of,  188 
Pickerel,  chain,  culture  of,  200 
Pike,  characteristics  of,  202 
Plants  for  an  aquarium,  246; 

for  fish-ponds,  14,  46,  226 
Ponds  for  black  bass,  9,  47; 
for  carp,  72,  75;  for  cat- 
fish, 61,  66;  for  frogs,  224; 
for  goldfish,  268;  for  trout, 
93 

Raceways,  advantage  of,  104, 
127 


INDEX 


287 


Ringer  eggs,  141 

Rock-bass,  culture  of,  51,  67 

Salmon,  culture  of,   174 
Salt  baths,  156,  276 
Shade,  need  of,  97 
Shelf  of  a  pond,  defined,  10 
Shipping  fish,   84,   106 
Sides  of  ponds,  12,  68,  98 
Silversides,  culture  of,  175 
Site  of  ponds  for  bass,  5j  for 

trout,  93 

Smelt,  culture  of,  212 
Sorting  of  young  fish,  67,  129, 

169 
Spawning  of  black  bass,  30; 

of  carp,  81;  of  cat-fish,  62; 

of    goldfish,    263;    of    pike, 

204;  of  perch,  191;  of  trout, 

126 


Spermatozoa,  131,  134 
Stripping  trout,  129,  132 
Sucker,  culture  of,  215 
Sun-fish,  culture  of,  49 


Tadpoles,  development  of,  232 ; 

habits  of,  220,  228,  230 
Temperature  in  trout-culture, 

90,   108,   123 
Trout,  brook,  culture  of,  86- 

173 


Water  suitable  for  black  bass, 
3,  10;  for  carp,  78;  for 
brook- trout,  86 

Water  beetles,  231 

Yearling  trout,  care  of,  166 


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